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NOTES, 


CRITICAL 


AND    PRACTl  C  VeT' 


ON  THE  BOOK  OF  ^^-^'T^V      ^T      TPMM^- 

•*     vJAN  l6  1911 
EXODUS;W  ^.-.-^   . 


DESIGNED    AS    A    GENERAL    HELP    TO 


BIBLICAL   READING  AND    INSTRUCTION. 


s/- 

Bt  GEORGE    BUSH, 

PROF.  OF  HEB.  AND  ORIENT.  LIT.,  N.  Y.  CITV  UNIVERSITV. 


IN   TWO    VOLUMES. 
VOL.  I. 


FIFTH    EDITION. 


NEW  YORK  : 

PUBLISHED  BY  MARK  H.  NEWMAN. 

199  BROADWAY. 

1846. 


Entered 
According  to  act  of  Congress,  in  (he  year  1841,     by 

GEORGE      BUSH, 

In  the  Clerk's  t  ffice  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of 

New  York. 


STKRKOTYrED  BY 

FRANCIS    F.    RIPLE-i 

No.  128  Fulton  Street,  N.  Y. 


INTRODUCTION 


§  1.    Title,  Author,  Scope,  ^c. 

The  designation  given  in  our  version  to  the  second  book  of  the  Pentateuch, 
viz.  'Exodus,'  is  derived  directly  from  the  Greek  c^oSoi,  exodos,  varying  only  by 
the  Latinised  termination  us  for  os.  The  import  of  the  term  is  that  of  going 
forth,  emigration,  departure,  and  is  significant  of  the  principal  event  recorded  in 
it,  to  wit,  the  departure  of  the  children  of  Israel  from  Egypt.  According  to 
Hebrew  usage,  though  no  where  in  the  text  itself,  it  is  called  m?3!I3  11^6^1  ve- 
elleh  shemoth,  and  these  are  the  names,  from  the  initial  words  of  the  book.  This 
phrase,  however,  is  sometimes  abbreviated  by  the  Jewish  writers  to  the  simple 
term  rn^D^U  shemoth,  the  names. 

That  the  authorship  of  this  book  is  rightly  ascribed  to  Moses,  is  proved  by  the 
arguments  which  go  to  ascertain  the  entire  Pentateuch  as  the  production  of  his 
hand.  These  are  so  fully  detailed  in  our  Introduction  to  Genesis,  that  it  will  be 
unnecessary  to  repeat  them  here.  But  we  have  in  addition  still  more  explicit 
evidence  on  this  point.  Moses  testifies  of  him.self,  Ex.24.  4,  that  he  'wrote  all 
the  words  of  the  Lord,'  commanded  him  on  a  certain  occasion,  which  words  are 
contained  in  this  book.  Our  Savior,  also,  when  citing.  Murk  12.  26,  a  certain 
passage  from  this  book,  calls  it  'the  book  of  Moses.'  And  again,  Luke  20.  37, 
he  says,  '  Now  that  the  dead  are  raised,  even  Moses  showed  at  the  bush.'  It  is 
moreover  to  be  observed  that  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are  spoken  of  in 
the  New,  Luke  15.  31,  as  divided  into  two  grand  classes,  'Moses  and  the  proph- 
ets,' and  in  v.  16,  'the  law  and  the  prophets  ;'  so  that  all  the  Scriptures,  besides 
'the  prophets,'  were  written  by  Moses  ;  in  other  words,  the  four  books  of  the 
Maw'  were  written  by  him.  There  remains,  therefore,  no  room  for  doubt  that 
Moses  wrote  the  book  of  Exodus,  and  if  any  thing  more  were  necessary  to  estab- 
lish its  canonical  character,  it  would  bo  found  in  the  fact  mentioned  by  Rivet, 
that  twenty-five  passages  are  quoted  from  it  by  Christ  and  his  Apostles  in  express 
terms,  and  nineteen  as  to  the  sense. 

As  to  the  general  scope  of  the  book,  it  is  plainly  to  preserve  the  memorial  of 
the  great  facts  of  the  national  history  of  Israel  in  its  earlier  periods,  to  wit,  their 
deliverance  from  Egypt,  the  kindness  and  faithfulness  of  God  in  their  subsequent 
preservation  in  the  wilderness,  the  delivery  of  the  Law,  and  the  establi-shment  of 
a  new  and  peculiar  system  of  worship.  All  the  particulars  connected  with  these 
several  events  are  given  in  the  fullest  and  most  interesting  detail,  and  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  compel  in  the  reader  the  recognition  of  an  overruling  Providence  at 
every  step  of  the  narration.     There  is  perhaps  no  book  in  the  Bible  that  records 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

siKih  an  illustrious  scries  of  miracles,  or  that  keeps  the  divine  agency  so  con- 
siaiilly  before  the  mind's  eye.  Nor  are  the  moral  lessons  which  it  teaches  less 
prominent  and  striking.  We  find  the  Apostle  Paul,  1  Cor.  10.  11,  after  having 
adverted  to  the  course  of  Israel's  experience  as  a  nation,  immediately  adding, 
'Now  all  these  things  happened  unto  them  for  ensamples  ;  and  they  are  written 
for  our  admonition,  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come.'  No  sooner  had 
he  adverted  to  their  privileges  than  he  describes  their  chastisements,  as  inflicted 
to  the  intent  that  we  should  not  so  imitate  their  sin,  as  to  provoke  a  visitation 
of  the  same  vengeance.  Indeed  their  whole  history  forms  one  grand  prediction 
and  outline  of  human  redemption,  and  of  the  lot  of  the  churcli.  In  the  servitude 
of  Israel  we  behold  a  lively  image  of  the  bondage  to  sin  and  Satan  in  which  the 
unregencrale  are  held  captive.  In  the  deliverance  from  Egypt  is  foreshown  their 
redemption  from  this  horrid  thraldom  ;  and  the  journey  through  the  wilderness 
is  agrapliic  program  of  a  Christian's  journey  through  life  to  his  final  inheritance 
in  the  heavenly  Canaan.  So  also,  without  minute  specification,  the  manna  of 
which  the  Israelites  ate,  and  the  rock  of  which  they  drank,  as  well  as  the  brazen 
serpent  by  which  they  w-ere  healed,  were  severally  typical  of  corresponding 
particulars  under  the  Christian  economy.  Add  to  this,  that  under  the  sacrifices, 
and  ceremonial  service  of  the  Mosaic  institute,  were  described  the  distinguishing 
features  of  the  more  spiritual  worship  of  the  Gospel. 

It  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind,  if  we  would  adequately  understand  the  drift 
of  the  peculiar  institutions  which  we  find  prescribed  in  the  pages  of  this  book, 
that  the  grand  design  of  Heaven  was  to  form  the  Israelites  into  a  distinct  and 
independent  people,  and  to  unite  them  in  one  great  political  and  ecclesiastical 
body  of  whom  Jehovah  himself  was  to  be  the  ackowledged  head,  constituting 
what  is  familiarly  known  as  the  Jewish  Theocracy.  But  upon  this  unique  kind 
of  polity,  which  never  had  a  parallel  in  the  case  of  any  other  nation  on  earth,  we 
have  reserved  a  more  extended  train  of  remark  in  the  Introduction  to  the  Second 
Volume  of  this  work,  where  the  reader  will  find  the  whole  subject  amply  dis- 
cussed. 

§  2.  Time  occupied  by  the  History,  Divisions,  ^-c. 

The  period  embraced  by  the  history  will  be  seen  from  the  following  com- 
putation : — 

Years. 

From  death  of  Joseph  to  birth  of  Moses, 60 

From  birth  of  Moses  to  departure  from  Egypt,       ....     81 
From  departure  from  Egypt  to  Tabernacle  erected,   ...       1 

142 
Some  make  the  period  from  the  death  of  Joseph  to  the  birth  of  Moses  to  be  63 
years,  which  will  increase  the  sum  total  to  145  years,  but  the  difference  is  too 
slight  to  make  it  necessary  to  state  the  grounds  of  either  calculation.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  however,  that  nearly  the  whole  book  is  occupied  in  the  detail  of  the 
events  which  occurred  in  the  last  year  of  the  period  above  mentioned. 

According  to  the  Jewish  arrangement  this  book  is  divided  into  eleven  TilTr'^iQ 
parashoth,  or  larger  divisions,  and  twenty  G'^MD  siderim,  or  smaller  divisions 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

In  our  Bibles  it  is  divided  into  forty  chapters,  which,  according  to  the  different 
subjects  treated,  may  be  classified  as  follows: — 

I.  The  oppression  of  the  Israelites  in  Egypt,  ch.  1. 

II.  The  birth  and  early  life  of  Moses,  ch.  2. 

III.  The  legation  of  Moses,  ch.  3,  4.  1—29. 

IV.  The  mission  of  Moses,  and  the  infliction  of  the  first  eight  plagues, 

ch.  4.  29— 10.  21. 

V.  The  institution  of  ihe  Passover,  ch.  12.  1 — 21. 

VI.  The  conclusion  of  the  ten  plagues,  ch.  10.  21—12.  21—31. 

VII.  The  exodus,  ch.  12.  31-37,  and  40—42. 

VIII.  The  wanderings  in  the  wilderness,  from  Rameses  in  Egypt  to  Mount 

Sinai,  ch.  12.  37—40  to  ch.  19.  1,  2. 

IX.  Moses  called  up  into  the  mount,  and  tlie  preparation  of  the  people 

for  the  renewing  of  the  Covenant,  ch.  19. 

X.  The  moral  law  delivered,  ch.  20. 

XI.  The  judicial  and  ceremonial  law  delivered,  ch.21 — 31. 

XII.  The  idolatry  of  the  Israelites,  and   their  punishment  with  the  re- 

newal of  the  Covenant,  ch.  32 — 34. 

XIII.  The  oflTerings  for  and  the  construction  of  the  tabernacle,  ch.35 — 39. 

XIV.  The  tabernacle  erected,  and  covered  by  the  cloud  of  the  divine 

Presence,  ch.  40. 

§  3.  Commentators. 

Throughout  the  great  mass  of  biblical  criticism  and  exposition  embodied  in  our 
own  and  foreign  languages,  there  are  comparatively  few  works  devoted  to  the 
book  of  Exodus  alone  ;  nor  is  it  always  from  these  that  the  student  or  commen- 
tator can  expect  to  derive  the  most  valuable  aid.  For  the  most  part,  the  com- 
mentaries which  embrace  either  the  whole  Scriptures,  or  extended  portions  of 
them,  are  the  store-houses  from  whence  the  materials  of  exegetical  illustration 
are  to  be  sought.  Of  these  the  Critici  Sacri,  the  Synopsis  of  Pool,  the  Scholia  of 
Rosenmuller,  the  Annotations  of  Leclerc,  Ainsworth,  and  Patrick,  will  always 
hold  the  chief  rank  in  the  estimation  of  the  scholar,  next  to  the  Ancient  Versions 
and  Targums  contained  in  Walton's  Polyglot.  These  accordingly  have  been  al- 
ways at  hand,  as  a  constant  tribunal  of  reference,  through  every  stage  o£  the 
progress  of  the  present  work.  But  it  is  obvious  at  a  glance,  that  so  vast  is  the 
variety  of  subjects  necessarily  brought  under  review  in  the  course  of  this  book, 
that  no  one  class  of  authorities  will  by  any  means  suffice  for  its  adequate  elucida- 
tion. Philology,  Geography,  Antiquities,  History,  Architecture,  the  arts  of  Sculp- 
ture, Engraving,  Dyeing,  Weaving,  Embroidering,  to  say  nothing  of  the  peculiar 
systemof  Law,  Jurisprudence,  and  Worship,  enjoined  upon  the  Israelites,  all  pre- 
fer their  claims  for  more  or  less  of  illustration  at  the  hands  of  him  who  assumes 
the  task  of  expounding  in  order  the  chapters  of  Exodus.  It  would  scarcely  be  pos- 
sible, therefore,  to  enumerate  all  the  works  which  have  gone  to  constitute  the  ap- 
paratus for  the  present  undertaking,  without  citing  the  entire  list  of  biblical  helps 
appended  to  the  Introduction  to  tl\p  Notes  on  Genesis,  besides  a  great  multitude 
of  others  which  are  there  omitted.     In  fact,  we  know  of  no  book  in  the  Bible 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

that  demands  so  great  a  diversity  of  material  for  its  exposition  as  the  second 
book  of  the  Pentateuch.  How  far  the  various  and  voluminous  sources  of  in- 
formation, to  which  llie  author  has  had  access,  have  been  made  available  to  his 
grand  purpose  in  the  execution  of  the  present  work,  is  a  question  that  awaits 
the  decision  of  his  readers.  A  very  minute  specification  might  invite  a  more 
critical  comparison,  and  present  a  more  palpable  contrast,  between  his  advan- 
tat^es  and  his  achievement,  than  would  redound  to  the  credit  of  his  work.  At  the 
same  time,  he  cannot  in  candor  confess  to  any  conscious  lack  of  effort  to  do  the 
utmost  justice  to  every  part  of  his  self-imposed  labor — if  that  may  be  called  a  la- 
bor, which  has  proved,  from  beginning  to  end,  an  unfailing  source  of  pleasure. 

The  following  catalogue  is  not  given  as  complete,  but  merely  as  indicating,  in 
addition  to  those  already  specified,  the  most  important  collateral  aids  to  a  full 
critical  and  ethical  developement  of  the  sense  of  this  remarkable  book. 

I.  Jewish  and  Christiana- Rabbinical  Commentators. 

R.  Salomonis  Jarchi,  dicti  Raschi,  Commentarius  Hebraicus,  in  quinque 
Libros  Mosis,  Latine  versus  atque  Notis  Critics  ae  philologicis  illustratus  a 
JoH.  Frederico  Breithaupto.     Gothae,  1713.     4lo. 

Jarchi,  or  Raschi,  as  he  is  usually  called  from  combining,  according  to  Hobrew 
usage,  the  three  initial  letters  of  his  name  (■'"ii;"!),  is  generally  ])]ated  by  the 
Jews  at  the  head  of  their  commentators.  They  call  him  '  the  great  light'  and 
'  the  lioly  moutli,'  from  the  value  attached  to  his  learned  commrnts  on  the  Law 
and  th»^  Proj)hels.  These  I  have  found  occasionally  to  contain  some  hapjiy 
verbal  criticisms,  and  in  the  account  of  the  construction  of  the  tabernacle,  in  par- 
ticular, his  remarks  are  plain,  common-sense,  and  valuable  ;  but  in  the  main  lie 
indulges  in  the  characteristic  silly  conceits  of  the  Rabbins,  and  his  style,  with 
all  the  aid  it  derives  from  Breithau}it's  excellent  notes  and  ))ara)!hrases,  is  so  ob- 
scure as  to  render  him  of  little  service  to  one  who  cares  not  for  words  without 
meaning.     He  was  a  native  of  Troyes  in  Champagne,  and  died,  A.D.  IISO. 

R.  IsAACi  Abarbanelis  Commentarius  in  Pentateuchum  Mosis,  cura  Henrici 
J.  Van  Banshuisen.     Hanovite,  1710.     Folio. 

Rabbi  Abarbanel,  or  Abravanel,  as  the  name  is  sometimes  written,  was  a 
Portugupsp  Jew,  who  flourished  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  wrote  commeritaries 
on  the  Pentateuch,  the  whole  of  the  Prophets,  and  some  other  books  of  Scri))ture. 
He  also  is  highly  esteemed  by  his  countrymen,  and  though  an  exceedingly  bitter 
enemy  of  Christianity,  yet  Father  Simon  says  of  him,  'We  may,  in  my  opinion, 
rea^  more  advantage  in  Scripture-translation  from  R.  Isaac  Abravanel,  than  from 
any  other  Jew.  He  has  written  in  an  elegant  and  perspicuous  style,  although 
he  is  too  copious  and  sometimes  affects  rhetoric  more  than  strict  fidelity  to  the 
sacred  text.'  As  the  voluine  abovemenlioned  came  into  niy  hands  only  at  a  very 
advanced  stage  of  my  own  work,  I  have  been  unable  to  make  any  direct  uf^e  of 
it.  Through  the  medium  of  Rosenmuller  and  Cartwright,  however,  his  remarks 
have  occasionally  found  their  way  into  my  Notes. 

Christophori  Cartwright  Electa  Targumico-Rabbinica ;  sive  Annotationes 
in  Exodutn  ex  trijjlici  Targum.     Lond.  ]Go3.     Svo. 

This  is  a  valuable  work,  ptirely  critical,  made  up  almost  entirely  of  materials 
drawn  from  the  Rabbinical  couimentaries  and  the  Chaldee  and  other  ancient 
versions.     It  is  used  much  ofiener  than  quoted  by  Rosenmuller. 

Ainsworth's  (H.)  Annotations  upon  the  Second  Book  of  Moses,  called  Exo- 
dus.    Lond.  1639.    Fol. 


INTRODUCTION.  I 

This  is  the  second  part  of  the  author's  invahiable  work  on  the  Pentateuch.  It 
is  rich  ill  pertinent  citations  from  Jewish  sources,  and  in  that  kind  ol  verbal 
criticism  which  consists  in  laying  open  tiie  u$us  loqucndi  of  the  original  is  en- 
tirely without  a  parallel. 

Lightfoot's  Handful  of  Gleanings  out  of  the  Book  of  Exodus.  Works  (Pit- 
man's  Ed.  in  13  vols.),  Vol.  II.  p.  351—409. 

This  is  a  collection  of  remarks  critical,  chronological,  historical,  and  tal- 
mndical  upon  detached  portions  of  Exodus.  As  in  all  Ligiitlnot's  works,  some 
of  his  observations  are  of  considerable  value,  olliers  of  very  little. 

II.  Christian  Commentators. 

Willett's  Hexapla  in  Exodum ;  that  is,  a  sixfold  commentary  upon  the  Book 
of  Exodus,  according  to  the  Method  propounded  in  the  Hexapla  upon  Genesis. 
Lond.  160S.     Folio. 

A  voluminous  and  tedious  Commentary,  but  not  without  its  value,  especially 
as  embodying  and  usually  conluting  ihe  interpretations  of  the  Romanists.  He 
compares  also  the  various  versions  and  deduces  doctrinal  and  moral  inlcrences. 

RivETi's  (Andr.)  Opera  Theologica.     Rotterdam,  1651.    2  Tom.  Folio. 

The  first  of  these  huge  volumes  contains  the  author's  Exercitations  on  Genesis 
and  Exodus.  They  are  very  elaborate  and  generally  judicious,  but  marked  with 
the  prolixity  of  the  seventeenth  century.  At  the  present  day  they  are  merely 
commentaries  for  commentators. 

Hopkins'  (Wm.)  Corrected  Translation  of  Exodus,  with  Notes  critical  and 
explanatory.    Lond.  1784.    4lo. 
Said  to  be  a  work  of  little  value. 

III.  Miscellaneous  and  Illustrative  Works. 

Pictorial  Bible  with  Wood-cuts  and  Original  Notes.  Lond.  1S36-8.  3  vols. 
Roy.  Svo. 

For  a  character  of  this  very  valuable  work  see  the  Preface  to  my  Notes  on 
Genesis.  The  '  Pictorial  History  of  Palestine,'  now  in  course  of  publication  by 
the  same  author,  is  a  work  of  similar  character,  and  abounding  with  rich  ma- 
terials for  illustrating  the  Old  Testament  history. 

Buddicom's  Christian  Exodus,  or  the  Deliverance  of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt, 
practically  considered  in  a  series  of  Discourses.    Lond.  1839.    2  vols.  12mo. 

Bahr's  Symbolikdes  Mosaischen  Cultus  (Symbolism  of  the  Mosaic  Worship). 
Heidelb.    1837—9.    Svo. 

An  exceedingly  curious  and  valuable  work,  entering  into  the  most  profound  re- 
searches respecting  the  symbolical  character  of  the  Tabernacle  and  Temple  ritual. 

Graves'  (Rich.)  Lectures  on  the  Four  Last  Books  of  the  Pentateuch.  Lond. 
1815,  2  vols.  Svo. 

Faber's  (G.  S.)  Horae  Mosaicse  ;  or  a  Dissertation  on  the  Credibility  and 
Theology  of  the  Pentateuch.     Lond.  1818.    2  vols.  Svo. 

The  leading  olijt-ct  of  this  york  is  to  establish  the  authenticity  of  the  Penta- 
teuch, by  pointing  out  tlie  coincidence  of  its  facts  and  statements  wit h  the  re- 
n.ains  o(  profane  antiquity,  and  their  connexion  will)  Christianity.  It  is  a  pro- 
duction of  great  value  to  the  biblical  student. 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

Treatise  on  the  Patriarchal,  Levitical,  and  Christian  Dispensations. 

Lond.  1823.    2  vols.  8vo. 

This  Treatise  exhibits  all  the  strong  masculine  sense,  and  extensive  classical 
erudition  lliat  distinguish  the  author,  but  Irom  its  greater  license  of  hypothesis 
in  particular  parts  is  perhaps  generally  less  esteemed  than  the  'Horee  Mosaicae' 
mentioned  above.  The  attentive  reader,  however,  cannot  but  derive  lioni  it 
many  very  imjiortant  ideas  on  the  subject  of  sacred  antiquity.  His  refutation  of 
some  of  Warburton's  bold  positions  is  eminently  successful. 

Outram's  (\Vm.)  Two  Dissertations  on  Sacrifices  ;  translated  by  Allen.   Lond. 
1817.    Svo. 
A  standard  work  on  the  subject  of  which  it  treats. 

MicHAELis'  (J.  D.)  Commentaries  on  the  Laws  of  Moses  ;  translated  by  Smith. 
Lond.  1S14.     4  vols.  Svo. 

The  value  of  this,  the  main  work  of  its  author,  depends  upon  the  degree  to 
which  it  is  imbued  with  the  genius  of  Orientalism,  and  the  sagacity  discovered  in 
tracing  the  connexion  between  the  institutions  of  Moses  and  the  various  influ- 
ences of  climate,  manners,  hereditary  usages,  and  other  national  characteristics 
which  may  be  supposed  to  have  governed  their  adoption.  Its  great  fault  is  its 
treating  the  Mosaic  jurisprudence  and  ritual  as  if  it  originated  with  Moses  rather 
than  with  God.  It  is  also  occasionally  disfigured  with  a  levity  and  grossness 
very  unsuited  to  its  subject.  Yet  it  throws  too  much  light  on  the  wisdom  and 
design  of  the  Levitical  code  not  to  be  on  the  whole  a  very  valuable,  as  well  as 
very  interesting  work. 

Robinson's  (Prof.  E.)  Biblical  Researches  in  Palestine,  Mount  Sinai,  and 
Arabia  Petraea.  A  Journal  of  Travels  in  the  year  1838,  by  E.  Robinson,  and  E. 
Smith  ;  undertaken  in  reference  to  Biblical  Geography  ;  with  new  Maps  and 
Plans.     New  York,  1841.     3  vols.  Svo. 

From  no  source  have  I  experienced  greater  regret  in  looking  back  upon  the 
execution  of  my  task,  than  in  not  having  been  able,  from  the  late  date  of  its  pub- 
licaiion,  to  avail  myself  oi"  the  rich  topographical  treasures  contained  in  this 
work.  In  all  that  relates  to  the  geogra])hy  of  the  land  of  Goshen,  tlie  region  of 
the  Israelites'  sojourn  in  Egypt;  to  Ihe  route  from  thence  to  the  Red  Sea  ;  to 
the  passage  of  that  sea  ;  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin  ;  and  to  the  interesting  local- 
ities of  the  Sinai  tract,  the  researches  of  the  American  travellers  have  settled  a 
multitude  of  disputed  points,  and  in  fact  opened  a  new  era  in  the  progress  of 
Biblical  geography.  The  very  maps  themselves  are  sufficient  to  have  produced 
this  result,  even  had  the  matter  of  the  journal  been  wanting.  Both  together 
form  a  noble  contribution  to  the  cause  of  sacred  science,  of  which  the  age  and  the 
coimtry  that  have  given  birth  to  it  may  well  be  proud.  The  portion  of  the  work 
which  treats  of  Palestine  I  have  not  yet  seen,  though  I  am  assured  by  the  author 
that  it  contains  more  of  discovery  than  any  other. 


THE  BOOK  OF  EXODUS. 


N 


CHAPTER  I. 
OW  a  these  are  the  names  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  which 

a  Gen.  40.  8.— ch.  6.  14. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  prominent  subject  of  the  book 
upon  which  we  now  enter,  as  intimated 
by  its  title,  is  the  wonderful  deliverance 
of  the  nation  of  Israel  from  their  bond- 
age in  Egypt.  But  as  this  and  all  the 
great  events  in  the  history  of  that  peo- 
ple were  matters  of  express  prediction 
and  promise  on  the  part  of  God  ;  the 
sacred  writer  commences  his  narrative 
with  a  virtual  commentary  on  the  prom- 
ise made  to  Abraham,  Gen.  15.  5,  that 
his  seed  should  from  small  beginnings 
eventually  become  as  numerous  as  the 
stars  of  heaven  and  as  the  sands  on  tlie 
sea  shore.  Though  the  migration  of 
Jacob's  family  from  Canaan  to  Egypt, 
and  the  oppression  to  which  they  were 
subjected,  would  seem  to  have  threat- 
ened the  complete  frustration  of  the 
divine  puq:)0ses  in  regard  to  the  increase 
of  Abraham's  seed,  yet  the  writer  shows 
that  notwithstanding  it  was  but  a  mere 
handful  of  that  seed  that  was  sown  in  the 
adverse  soil  of  Egypt,  yet  the  harvest 
which  sprung  from  it  was  vast  beyond 
conception,  and  such  as  to  illustrate 
the  divine  veracity  in  the  most  glorious 
manner.  Many  interesting  incidents 
had  no  doubt  occurred  between  the 
death  of  Joseph  and  the  incipient  bond- 
age of  Israel ;  but  these  are  passed  over 
in  silence  because  they  did  not  bear 
particularly  upon  the  fulfilment  of  any 
special  prediction.  But  God  would  have 
nothing  lost  that  was  essential  to  the 
proof  of  his  faithfulness  in  his  covenant 
rel.itions.     He  deems  it  of  more  im- 


came  into  Egypt ;  every  man  and 
his  household  came  with  Jacob. 

2  Reuben,  Simeon,  Levi,  and  Judah, 

3  Issachar,  Zebulun,  and  Benjamin, 

portance  to  confirm  faith  than  to  gratify 
curiosity. 

I.  Now  these  are  the  names.  Heb, 
tTl^"I3  n^i<1  ve-elleh  shemoth,  and  these 
are  the  names.  The  use  of  the  Hebrew 
copulative  1  and  is  peculiar.  Though 
its  ordinary  office  in  a  continuous  nar- 
rative is  that  of  a  connective,  yet  it 
frequently  occurs  at  the  beginning  of  a 
book  where  it  can  have  no  reference  to 
any  thing  preceding,  as  Est.  1.1,'  Now 
it  came  to  pass.'  Heb.  And  it  came  to 
pass.  Compare  Ruth  1.1,  Ezek.  1.  1. 
Here,  however,  as  well  as  in  the  com- 
mencemert  of  the  two  following  books, 
it  is  probably  to  be  taken  in  its  con- 
nective sense,  indicating  the  continua- 
tion of  the  foregoing  narrative.  The 
books  of  Moses  appear  not  to  have  been 
orginally  divided,  as  at  present,  into 
five  separate  portions,  but  to  have  con- 
stituted one  unbroken  volume.  This  is 
inferred  from  tlie  manner  in  which  the 
writings  of  Moses  are  quoted  in  the 
New  Testament,  where  no  such  distinc- 
tion is  recognized.     See  Luke   16.  31. 

IT  Which  came.     Heb.  t:">i^in  hab- 

baim,  which  (were)  coming.     See  Note 

on  Gen.  46.  8. TT  Every  man  and  his 

household.  Heb.in"im  "i!;*ii<  ishv-betho, 
every  one  and  his  house.  Chal.  '  Every 
one  and  the  men  of  his  household.'  On 
this  frequent  sense  of  the  term  *  liouse' 
see  Note  on  v.  21.  Gr.  £Kar-o^  Truf  tvi, 
each  icith  his  whole  household. 

2 — 4.  Reuben,  Simeon,  &c.  In  this 
enumeration  the  sons  of  tlie  handmaids 
are  reckoned  last,  which  accounts  for 


10 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1706. 


4  Dan,  and  Naphtali,  Gad,  and 
Asher. 

5  And  all  the  souls  that  came  out 
of  the  loins  of  Jacob  were  ^  seventy 

1>  Gen.  46.  t2(),  27.— ver  20.     Deut.  10.  22. 

Benjamin's  occupying  the  seventh  place 
instead  of  the  eleventh.  The  frequent 
mention  of  the  names  of  the  twelve 
patriarchs  in  the  sacred  history  lays  a 
foundation  for  the  numerous  allusions  in 
the  sacred  writings  to  this  as  a  mystical 
number  applied  to  the  church  of  the 
New  Testament.  Thus  in  Rev.  7.  5 — 8, 
mention  is  made  of  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel,  and  of  tivelve  thousand  sealed 
out  of  every  tribe  ;  ch.  12.  1,  of  the 
twelve  stars  upon  the  woman's  crown  ; 
ch.  21.  12 — 14,  of  the  twelve  gates,  and 
twelve  foundations  of  the  heavenly  city, 
the  New  Jerusalem  ;  where  it  may  be 
observed  that  the  jasper  foundation, 
the  precious  stone  in  the  breast-plate 
ill  which  Benjamin's  name  was  written, 
Ex.  28.  20,  is  the  first  in  order.  Moses 
also  in  Deut.  33.  12,  assigns  Benjamin 
his  blessing  before  his  elder  brother 
Joseph. 

5.  All  the  souls  that  came  out  of  the 
loins  of  Jacob.  Heb.  I^y^  ^va'^  rCD  bl: 
-pS/"^  kol  nephesh  yotzee  yerek  Yaakob, 
all  the  soul  (collect,  sing.)  of  the  pro- 
cceders-out-nf  the  thigh  of  Jacob  ;  the 
usual    idiom    for   expressing  phj'sical 

generation. IT  Seventy  souls.     Tliat 

is,  persons.  See  Note  on  Gen.  14.  21. 
By  comparing  this  passage  with  Gen. 
46.  27,  it  appears  that  the  whole  num- 
ber, exclusive  of  Jacob  himself,  amount- 
ed to  66  ;  including  him  to  67 ;  so  that 
Joseph  with  his  two  sons  are  necessary 
to  make  up  the  complement.  If  it  be 
objected  that  this  mode  of  enumeration 
represents  Jacob  as  coming  out  of  his 
own  thigh,  we  refer  in  replj'  to  the 
Note  on  a  similar  phraseology,  Gen.  35. 
22,  26.  The  Sept.  version,  which  trans- 
fers the  final  clause  of  this  verse  to  the 
beginning  of  it,  states  the  number  at 
75,  which  is  followed  by  Stephen,  Acts 


souls :    for  Joseph  was  in  Egypt 
already. 

6  And  c  Joseph  died,  and  all  his 
brethren,  and  all  that  generation. 

c  Gen.  50.  26.     Acts.  7.  15. 


7.  14.  For  an  explanation  of  this  ap- 
parent discrepancy,  see  Note  on  Gen. 

46.  27. IT  For  Joseph  was  in  Egypt 

already  ;  and  therefore  is  to  be  except- 
ed from  the  number  that  came  into 
Egypt,  though  not  from  the  number  of 
Jacob's  descendants.  Chal. '  With  Jo- 
seph, who  was  in  Egypt.' 

6.  And  Joseph  died,  &c.  After  at- 
taining to  the  age  of  110  years,  during 
80  of  which  he  was  a  ruler  in  Egypt. 
Of  tiis  sepulture  nothing  is  here  said  ; 
but  we  learn  elsewhere  that  his  re- 
mains, as  well  as  those  of  his  breth- 
ren, were  carried  out  of  Egypt  and 
buried  in  Sychem  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 

Exod.  13.  19.     Acts,  7.  16. H  All  that 

generation.  Not  only  the  whole  gene- 
ration of  Joseph's  kindred,  but  all  the 
men  of  that  age,  Egyptians  as  well  as 
Israelites.  Compare  Gen.  6.  9.  Gener- 
ations are  mortal  as  well  as  individuals, 
nor  can  the  nearest  relations  keep  each 
other  alive.  The  term  of  their  exist- 
ence, as  well  as  the  bounds  of  their 
habitation,  is  set  by  God  himself  A 
very  considerable  lapse  of  time  how- 
ever is  implied  in  this  expression,  as 
Levi  lived  to  the  age  of  137,  and  con- 
sequently survived  Joseph  by  27  years. 
The  passage  forms  a  natural  introduc- 
tion to  the  ensuing  history  of  the  great 
change  that  occurred  in  the  condition 
of  the  Israelites  under  the  next  reign. 
During  the  long  period  of  the  sojourn- 
ing of  Joseph  and  his  brethren  in  Egypt 
nothing  transpired  to  mar  the  peace 
and  prosperity  which  they  there  enjoy- 
ed, or  to  prevent  the  men  of  that  gene- 
ration passing  off  the  stage  in  silent  suc- 
cession, till  a  new  race  had  impercept- 
ibly sprung  up  to  occupy  their  places. 
Eccl.  1.  4,  '  One  generation  passcth 
away,  and  another  generation  cometh,' 


B.  C.  ]635.] 


CHAPTER  I. 


U 


7  H^And  the  children  of  Israel 
were  fruitful,  and  increased  abun- 
dantly, and  multiplied,  and  waxed 

<iGei).46.3.  Deut.26.5.  Fs.105.24.  Acts  7. 17. 


7.  Were  fruitful.  Heb.  l"iiD  paru,  a 
term  often  applied  to  the  vigorous  fructi- 
fication of  trees  and  plants,  and  implying 
here  that  none  of  the  Israelitish  women 
■were  barren  ;  they  began  early  and  con- 
tinued long  in  bearing,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  perhaps  brought  forth  more 
than  one  at  a  birth.    Gr.  r}vlri()r)(Tar,  were 

augmented. IT  Increased  abundantly. 

Heb.  "IS^'^ZJ"!  yishretzu,  bred  swiftly, 
like  fishes,  or  reptiles.  See  Note  on 
Gen.  1.20.  Gr.  enXTiQwdrjiav,  were  mul- 
tiplied. Vulg. '  Quasi  germinantes  mul- 
tiplicati  sunt,'  as  it  were  springing  up 

were  multiplied. IT  Multiplied.  Heb. 

13'^'^  yirbu,  became  numerous.  Gr. 
^vSai'H  EytvovTo,  became  diffusely  abund- 
ant.  IT    Waxed  exceeding   mighty. 

Heb.  I^DlHy^  yaatzmu,  became  strong. 
Gr.  Kariu-^vov,  prevailed.  The  accumu- 
lation of  these  nearly  synonimous  terms 
gives  the  utmost  intensity  to  the  wri- 
ter's meaning,  and  conveys  the  idea  of 
amazing  and  unparalleled  increase. 
This  is  elsewhere  abundantly  confirm- 
ed. It  was  430  years  from  the  call  of 
Abraham  to  the  deliverance  from  Egypt, 
during  the  first  21.5  of  which  the  pro- 
mised seed  increased  to  but  70  souls, 
but  during  the  latter  half  of  the  same 
period  these  70  were  multiplied,  Num. 
1.46,  to  600,000  fighting  men;  and  if 
to  these  we  add  the  women,  the  child- 
ren, and  the  aged,  the  whole  number 
probably  amounted  to  upwards  of  two 
millions  !  Well  then  does  the  psalmist 
say,  Ps.  105.  24,  that  <  he  increased  his 
people  greatly,  and  made  them  stronger 
than  their  enemies.'  See  also  Deut. 
26.  5. 

8.  There  arose  up  a  new  king  over 
Egypt.     Gr.  avt<TrT\  (iaii\tv<;  Lrepoi,  there 

I  arose  up  another  king.  This  rendering 
[  is  somewhat  remarkable,  as  the  literal 
[        trinslation  of  IDin  is  not  irepos,  an- 


exceeding  mighty ;   and  the  land 
was  filled  with  them. 
8  Now   there   e  arose  up  a  new 

«  Acts  7.  18. 


other,  but  Kntvo^,  new.  It  probably  im- 
plies a  king  of  another  race,  of  a  differ- 
ent dynasty,  one  who  came  to  the 
throne,  not  by  regular  succession,  but 
in  consequence  of  intestine  revolution 
or  foreign  conquest.  This  interpreta- 
tion seems  to  be  warranted  by  the  anal- 
ogous usage  of  the  word  '  new'  in  the 
following  and  numerous  other  passages  ; 
Deut.  32.  17,  'They  sacrificed  unto 
devils,  not  to  God  ;  to  gods  whom  they 
knew  not,  to  new  gods  tliat  came  newly 
up  ;'  i.  e.  to  strange  gods,  to  exotic 
deities.  Judg.  5.  8,  '  Tliey  chose  new 
gods  ;'  i.  e.  other  or  strange  gods,  the 
gods  of  the  heathen.  So  Mark,  16.  17, 
'  They  shall  speak  with  new  tongues  ;' 
i.e.Avith  foreign  tongues,  the  languages 
of  other  people.  The  informations  of 
profane  history  on  this  point  are  ex- 
ceedingly vague  and  meagre,  but  it  is 
contended  by  some  writers,  that  it  was 
about  thif  time  that  Egypt  was  invaded 
and  occupied  by  a  powerful  Asiatic 
people,  whose  rulers  formed  the  dy- 
nasty of  shepherd-kings,  of  whom  so 
much  is  said  in  Manetho,  Herodotus, 
and  others.  Josephus  also  (Ant.  L.  II. 
c.  9.  §  1.)  expressly  affirms  that  the 
Israelites  were  oppressed  by  the  Egyp- 
tians after  the  death  of  Joseph,  '  the 
government  having  been  transferred  to 
another  family.''  But  even  were  this 
point  involved  in  far  less  obscurity  than 
it  is,  it  would  comport  but  little  with 
our  plan  to  enter  into  its  discussion. 
Mattersof  mere  historical  interest,  of 
which  the  Scriptures  say  nothing,  come 
rather  within  the  province  of  the  anti- 
quarian than  of  the  commentator. 

IT  Which  knew  not  Joseph.  That  is, 
who  regarded  not,  who  appreciated  not. 
A  like  phraseology  occurs  Judg.  2.  10, 
'  And  there  arose  anotlier  generation 
which  knew  not  the  Lord,  neither  the 


12 

kinjf  over  Kf^  pt, 
JoM-ph. 


EXODUS, 
wliioh  kiu'W  not 


[B.  C.  1635. 


work<»  which  he  hnd  (I<»no  for  Israel.' 
Tlmt  i-,  which  did  not  gratefully  ac- 
knotritd^t  the  Lord,  or  his  various 
vorks  of  mercy  towards  them.  The 
memory  of  the  name  and  services  of  so 
eminent  a  benefactor  could  not  but  have 
been  preserved  among  the  nation,  and 
must,  as  a  matter  of  report,  have  come 
lo  the  ears  of  tlie  king,  but  it  is  a  pe- 
culiarity of  words  of  knoulcd^e^  in  the 
Hebrew,  that  they  imjily  abo  the  excr- 
ciw  of  tlie  affections.  Thus,  Ps.  1.  6, 
'  The  Lord  knoueth  the  way  of  the 
righteous,'  i.e.  loveth.  Ps.  31.7,'  Thou 
hast  known  my  soul  in  adversities  ;' 
i.  e.  thou  hast  tenderly  regarded.  Prov. 
24.  23,  *  It  is  not  good  to  have  respect 
of  persons  in  judgment.'  Heb. '  to  knoiv 
persons.'  Job.  34.  19,  *  How  much  less 
to  him  that  acceptelh  not  the  persons 
of  princes,  nor  regardeth  the  rich  more 
than  the  poor.'  Heb.  '  nor  knoweth  the 
rich.'  It  was  probably  in  this  sense 
that  the  new  king  is  said  not  lo  have 
Amoim  Joseph,  and  this  is  loss  to  be 
wondered  at  if,  as  sucgested  above,  he 
was  of  a  foreign  nation  and  another 
dynasty.  The  Chal.  renders  it, '  Who 
confirmed  not  the  decree  of  Joseph,' 
i.  e.  according  to  Fagius,  cither  that 
he  totally  di>regarded  all  the  ordinances 
and  enactments  which  Joseph  had  orig- 
inatefl.  antl  intrwluced  universal  inno- 
Talion  ;  or  that  he  utterly  broke  through 
■11  the  compacts  and  covenants  existing 
hetwern  Joseph  as  the  representative 
of  Israel,  anfl  the  Pharaoh  who  then 
filled  the  throne,  and  began  cruellv  to 
oppress  a  people  whom  his  predecessor 
had  «wom  to  protect  and  befriend.  Both 
the  Tanpim  of  Jonathan  and  that  of 
Jeniiabm  adhere  to  the  former  sense  ; 
'  Who  considered  not  Joseph,  nor  walk- 
ed in  his  statutes.'  The  comment  of 
Rabbi  Solomon  probably  brings  us  still 
nearer  to  the  true  sense,  '  Who  acted 


9  And  he  said  unto  his  people, 
Bt'hold,  <"llie  people  of  the  children 

f  Ps.  105.24. 


as  if  he  did  not  know  him.'  It  is  doubt- 
less to  be  set  down  to  the  account  of  an 
exemplary  modesty  in  Joseph  that  no 
more  eflectual  means  had  been  adopted 
to  secure  among  the  Egyptians  the 
abiding  memory  and  acknowledgment 
of  his  great  services  to  that  people. 
Had  he  been  of  an  aspiring  spirit,  covet- 
ous of  present  or  posthumous  fame  ; 
had  he  sought  great  things  lor  himsrll 
or  his  kindred,  we  cannot  question  but 
that  monuments  and  various  other  me-  , 

morials   would    have    transmitted    his        I 
name  to  posterity  as  an  illustrious  bene-  i 

factor  of  his  adopted  country.  But  no 
prompting  of  this  nature  appears  to 
have  sw^ayed  the  bosom  of  Joseph.  As 
his  hopes  were  fixed  upon  the  posses- 
sion of  the  promised  inheritance,  he 
seems  to  have  accounted  it  sufficient 
simply  to  enjoy,  for  the  time  being,  the 
hospitality  of  a  foreign  prince,  till  the 
destined  period  of  removal  should  ar- 
rive, without  multiplying  the  ties  which 
would  then  have  to  be  broken.  But 
just  in  proportion  as  he  was  little  anx- 
ious and  aspiring  on  this  score,  was  the 
ingratitude   and    forgetfulness    of   the  j 

Eg}'ptians  the  more  culpable.  It  is  only 
the  basest  spirit  of  the  world  that  will 
take  occasion,  from  the  lowliness  oi 
the  claims  of  an  eminent  public  servant,  i 

to  bury  in  speedy  oblivion  the  rcmem-  | 
brance  of  his  services.  Yet  his  was 
but  the  lot  of  thousands,  whose  noblest 
benefactions  to  their  fellow  men  have 
been  repaid  with  the  most  imgrateful 
neglect.  The  poor  man  by  his  wisdom 
delivereth  the  city,  yet  no  man  remem- 
berelh  that  same  poor  man.  Could  we 
find  a  national  conscience,  we  might 
look  for  national  gratitude. 

9.  He  said  unto  his  people.  To  his 
people  in  the  persons  of  their  represent- 
atives,   his    counsellors. ^   Behold,         * 

the  people  of  the  children  of  Israel.  Heb.        f 


B.  C.  1635.] 


CHAPTER  I. 


13 


ol   Israel  are  more  and  mightier 
than  we. 

10  g  Come  on,  let  us  i^deal  wisely 
with  them,  lest  they  multiply,  and 

S  Ps.  10.  2.   &  63.  3,  4.  h'jol).  5.  13.  Ps.  105. 
25.  Prov.  1(5.  25.  &  21.  30.     Acts.  7.  19. 


^&i"iu;''  ^21  ^V  am  bene  Yisrael.  This 
is  rendered  in  most  of  the  ancient  ver- 
sions as  in  ours  ;  but  Aben  Ezra  re- 
marks, with  undoubted  correctness,  that 
'n'$  people  is  not  here  in  the  construct 
state,  but  in  apposition  with  'ijD  child- 
ren, so  as  to  require  the  rendering, '  the 
people,  the  children  of  Israel.'  A  dis- 
tinctive and  not   conjunctive  accent  is 

placed   upon  people. IT  More   and 

mightier.  Heb.  SI^S^I  ^'^rahve-atzum., 
many  and  mighty  bej^ond  us.  They  had 
become  mightier  by  becoming  more  ; 
that  is,  not  perhaps  absolutely  more  ; 
not  so  as  to  outnumber  the  population 
of  all  Egj-pt ;  but  more  in  proportion 
to  the  space  occupied  ;  more  within  any 
given  limits.  '  He  speaks,'  saj^s  Trapp, 
'  as  if  he  had  looked  through  a  multi- 
plying glass  ;'  and  it  is  scarcely  extrav- 
agant to  say,  that  such  a  multiplying 
glass  was  in  fact  the  promise  given  to 
Abraham.  By  others,  the  words  have 
been  regarded  as  a  false  pretext  for  re- 
ducing the  Israelites  to  bondage.  But 
this  we  think  less  probable. 

10.  Let  us  deal  wisely  with  them. 
Heb.  1^  ri?2:znri2  nithhakkemah  lo,  let 
us  deal  wisely  against  him  (collect, 
sing,  for  plur.)  ;  i.  e.  cunningly,  craft- 
ily ;  let  us  devise  some  method  of  op- 
pressing them,  of  preventing  their  enor- 
mous increase,  and  at  the  same  time 
avoid  the  show  of  oppression  and  down- 
right t}Tanny,  and  the  danger  arising 
from  their  great  physical  force.  Gr.  •ciTa- 
co)fi<T(.)fjcOn,  let  us  outwit  them.  Vulg. 
Sapienter  opprimamus  eum,  let  us  unsely 
oppress  him  {them).  Chal.  '  Let  us 
deal  wisel)^  against  them.'  The  original 
term  S«n  hakam,  is  used  for  the  most 
part  in  a  good  sense  for  acting  wisely, 
.skilfully,  prudently,  yet  it  occasionally 
carries  v,-ith  it  the  import  of  cunning, 

Vol.  I  9 


it  come  to  pass,  that,  when  there 
falleth  out  any  war,  they  join  also 
unto  our  enen\ies,  and  tight  against 
us,  and  so  get  them  up  out  of  the 
land. 

subtlety,  wiliness,  and  in  Ps.  10.3.  20,  in 
reference  to  this  very  event,  we  find  the 
equivalent  term  ^^Drin  hithnakkcl,  from 
P-2  to  coritrive  deceitfully  or  insidious- 
ly, '  lie  turned  their  hearts  to  hate  liis 
people,  to  deal  suhtilely  with  his  serv- 
ants.' The  icisdom  here  proposed  to  be 
eiT^plfijTed  was  the  wisdom  of  the  ser- 
pent; but  with  men  of  reprobate  minds, 
governed  solely  by  the  corrupt  spirit  of 
this  world,  whatever  measures  tend  to 
promote  their  own  interests  and  cir- 
cumvent their  opponents,  is  dignified 
by  the  epithet  wise,  though  it  be  found 
when  judged  by  a  purer  standard,  to  be 
in  reality  nothing  less  than  the  very 
policy  of  hell.  So  easily  is  language 
perverted,  and  made  a  sanction  for  the 

most  iniquitous  proceedings. IT  Lest 

they  multiply,  &c.  That  is,  lest  they 
continue  to  multiply,  and  become  more 
and  mightier  still.  It  is  obvious,  how- 
ever, that  the  mere  multiplication  of 
the  Israelites  was  no  just  ground  of 
alarm,  so  long  as  they  were  well  used 
and  no  provocation  given  theni  to  turn 
against  the  people  with  whom  they 
dwelt.  They  were  a  peaceful  race  of 
shei)herds,  who  looked  upon  themselves 
as  mere  temporary  sojourners  in  Eg}^t, 
and  who  would  therefore  be  the  last  to 
engage  in  plots  and  insurrections  against 
the  government.  The  promises  given 
them  by  God,  and  the  hopes  which  they 
entertained  as  a  nation,  were  the  strong- 
est security  which  the  Egyptians  could 
have  that  nothing  was  to  be  apprehend- 
ed from  them  on  the  score  of  rebellion. 
Indeed,  a  nation  so  evidently  favored  of 
Heaven,  instead  of  being  regarded  as  a 
source  of  danger,  could  not  but  prove  a 
bulwark  of  defence  to  the  country,  if 
treated  as  friends.  But  the  wicked  fear 
where  no  fear  is,  and  when  intent  upon 


14 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1635. 


11    Therefore  they  did  set  over 
them  taskiiuisters,  >to  alllict  ihem 

«Gen.  15  1?.   cli.  3.  7.     Dcut.  26.  6. 

oppression  or  wrong  they  will  feign  oc- 
casions for  it,  and  pretend  the  existence 
in  others  of  the  same  evil  purposes 
which  they  cherish  themselves.  Look- 
ing throui^h  the  Himsy  veil  with  which 
Iheir  real  motives  were  covered,  we  see 
plainly  that  hatred  of  their  religion, 
envy  at  their  prosj)erity,  and  a  covetous 
<lesire  of  possessing  their  riches,  prompt- 
ed the  oppressors  of  Israel  to  tliese  ne- 
farious counsels.  But  it  should  not  be 
forgotten  on  the  other  hand,  that  the 
truly  wi.te  counsels  of  God  in  reference 
to  his  own  people  lay  deeper  than  those 
of  their  enemies.  It  is  clear  from  vari- 
ous intimations  in  tlie  sacred  writers, 
as  Josh.  24. 14.  Ezek.  20. 5—8,  and  23.  S, 
that  the  chosen  people  were  beginning 
to  lapse  into  the  idolatry  of  Egypt, 
which  justly  subjected  them  to  the  hard- 
ships which  they  were  now  made  to  en- 
dure ;  and  the  train  of  events  was  now 
also  to  be  laid  which  was  to  result  in 
their  deliverance  from  the  house  of 
bondage.  Their  covenant  God  had  a 
rich  blessing  in  store  for  them,  but  he 
determines,  by  the  antecedent  bitter- 
ness of  their  lot,  to  enhance  its  sweet- 
ness when  it  came. IT   When  there 

fallcth  out  any  u-ar.  Heb.  nDS^^pri 
n'crip'^  tikrenah  milhamah.  The  ori- 
ginal here  presents  a  grammatical  ano- 
maly in  point  of  concord,  the  verb  '  fall- 
eth  out,' being  in  the  plural,  while  the 
substantive,  '  war,'  is  in  the  singular. 
Such  instances  occur  where  it  is  the  ob- 
ject of  the  writer  to  give  at  once  a  col- 
lective and  distributive  sense  to  the 
term  employed.  This  import  of  the 
phraso  our  translators  have  endeavored 
to  intimate  by  introducing,  very  proper- 
ly, the  rpithol  '  any,'  which  does  not 
occur  in  the  Ilebrov.-.  A  usage  precisely 
similar  is  met  with  in  the  following 
passages  J  Ps.  119. 103,  '  Rovi  sweet  are 


with  their  k  burdens.  And  they 
built  fur  Pharaoh  treasure-cities, 
Piihom,  land  Raamses. 

kch.2.  11.  &5.  4,5.  Ps.  81.6.  1  Gen.  47.  11. 


thy  ivords  unto  my  taste  ;'  i.  e.  all  and 
singular  of  thy  words.  Prov.  28.  1 , '  The 
wicked  flee  when  no  man  pursueth  ;'  i.  e. 
the  wicked,  one  and  all,  flee.  So  also 
1  Tim.  2. 15, '  Notwithstanding  she  shall 
be  saved  in  child-bearing,  if  they  con- 
tinue in  faith,  and  charity,  and  holiness.' 
11.  Set  over  them  task-masters,  or, 
tax-gatherers.  Heb.i^IL"  Ti^^J  ^^D^'^^l 
Q'^D72  va-yashnu  alauv  sarii  missim, 
and  they  placed  over  him  (collect,  sing.) 
masters  of  burdens.  The  original  is 
frequently  used  to  denote  tribute,  but 
here,  and  occasionally  elsewhere,  it 
doubtless  has  the  sense  of  tasks,  buT' 
dens,  onerous  services,  such  as  were 
probably  imposed  upon  those  who  could 
not  or  would  not  pay  the  appointed 
tribute.  The  term  therefore  which  pri- 
marily signified  tribute  was  employed 
to  denote  its  substitute  or  equivalent 
service.  Gr.  epyoiv  eniaTaTai,  masters  of 
works.  Chal. '  Princes  or  prefects  evil- 
entreating  (them).'  Syr.  'Worst  of 
rulers.'   Targ.  Jon.  '  Prefects  who  made 

them   to   serve.' IT   To  afflict  them 

with  their  burdens.  Heb.  Cfi^^CD  iri33> 
annotho  bc-siblotham,  to  humble  him 
(collect,  sing.)  uith  their  burdens  ;  i.  e. 
with  tlie  burdens  of  their  imposing  ;  the 
suffix  '  their'  having  reference  to  the 
Egyptians  and  not  the  Israelites.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  the  term  nS 
anah,  afflict,  here  used  is  the  very  term 
in  which  God  had  predicted  to  Abra- 
ham, hundreds  of  years  before  the  hard 
lots  of  his  seed  ;  Gen.  15.  13, '  And  they 
shall  afflict  (ID^I  ve-innu)  them  four 
hundred  years.'  Their  purpose  evidently 
was  by  their  severe  exactions  of  tribute 
and  labor  not  only  to  afflict  and  im- 
poverish them,  but  utterly  to  break  down 
their  spirits,  to  destroy  their  energy, 
and  thus  eventually  to  check  their  pro- 
digious increase.    With  this  view  they 


B.  C.  1635.  j 


CHAPTER  1. 


15 


were  suddenly  reduced  to  a  state  of 
vassalage  \  thoy  were  declared  to  be  the 
absolute  property  of  the  crown  ;  and 
the  whole  of  the  male  population  being 
told  otf  into  companies,  was  employed 
night  and  day  under  their  task-masters, 
upon  public  works,  and  driven  like  cat- 
tle into  the  fields.  They  were  com- 
pelled to  dig  clay,  to  make  bricks,  to 
bear  burdens,  and  to  build  cities,  whilst 
at  the  same  time  no  doubt  the  great- 
est cruelties  were  exercised  towards 
them.  Of  this  period  of  the  Jewish 
histor)'-,  Josephus  thus  speaks :  '  And 
having,  in  length  of  time,  forgotten  the 
benefits  the}' had  received  from  Joseph, 
particidarly  the  crown  being  now  come 
into  another  family,  they  became  very 
abusive  to  the  Israelites,  and  contrived 
many  ways  of  afflicting  them  ;  for  they 
enjoined  them  to  cut  a  great  number  of 
channels  for  the  river,  and  to  build  walls 
for  their  cities,  and  ramparts  that  they 
might  restrain  the  river,  and  hinder  its 
waters  from  stagnating,  upon  its  rim- 
ning  over  its  own  banks.  They  set  them 
also  to  build  p^Tamids  ;  and  by  all  this 
wore  them  out,  and  forced  them  to  learn 
all  sorts  of  mechanical  arts,  and  to  ac- 
custom themselves  to  hard  labor.'  All 
this  was  done  under  the  expectation  that 
multitudes  of  them  would  perish  from 
over  exertion,  whilst  all  would  become 
so  enfeebled  as  that  the  progress  of 
population  would  be  etfectually  check- 
ed. But  as  usual  where  men  set  them- 
selves to  counteract  the  fixed  purposes 
of  God,  the  result  proved  directly  con- 
trary to  their  anticipations.  When  the 
language  of  his  decree  is, '  Increase  and 
multiply,'  it  is  equally  idle  and  impi- 
ous for  the  edict  of  puny  mortals  to  pro- 
claim, '  Abstain  and  be  diminished.' 

IT  And  they  built  treasure  cities.  Heb. 
mD-D?2  *i*i2'  'P'^T?  va-yibcn  arc  miske- 
noth,  and  he  built  (collect,  sing.)  citie-s 
of  store,  as  the  phrase  is  rendered 
2  Chron.  16.  4,  <  And  they  smote  Ijon, 
and  Dan,  and  Abel-maim,  and  all  the 
store-cities    (mj^0?3    miskenoth)    of 


Naphtali  ;'  and  17.  12,  '  And  Jchosha- 
phat  waxed  great  exceedingly  j  and  he 
built  in  Judah  castles,  and  cities  of  store 
(m3^D72  miskenoth).''  Difterent  ver- 
sions, however,  present  different  ren- 
derings, among  which  are  store-houses, 
granaries^  fortresses^  and  nulled  towns. 
The  Chal.  has  '  Cities  of  the  house  of 
treasure  j'  i.  e.  cities  in  which  treasures 
are  deposited ;  but  what  kind  of  trea- 
sures we  are  not  informed.  Probably 
they  were  cities  that  served  not  so  much 
for  places  where  the  king  laid  up  his 
riches,  as  for  depots  and  granaries  for 
corn.  Syr.  and  Arab. '  Store-houses  for 
corn.'  This  is  confirmed  by  2  Chron. 
32.  28,  from  which  we  learn  that  Heze- 
kiah  caused  the  erection  of  store-houses 
(mijSD^  miskenoth)  for  the  increase  of 
com,  and  wine,  and  oil.'  The  Gr.  renders 
it  by  ttoAeis  0  y"P^'?j  fortified  cities,  not 
because  this  is  the  primary  meaning  of 
the  original  words,  but  because  it  was 
proper  and  customary  that  cities  which 
were  to  be  made  repositories  for  the 
safe  keeping  of  any  articles  whatever 
should  be  enclosed  by  walls  and  strong- 
ly fortified.  Large  armies  were  no 
doubt  subsisted  even  in  times  of  peace 
by  the  kings  of  Egypt,  which  would 
make  such  depots  necessary ;  and  per- 
haps the  very  force  required  to  carry  into 
execution  the  measures  against  the  Is- 
raelites would  lead  to  the  erection  of 
these  places  as  public  stores.  The 
Vulg.  has'  urbes  tabcrnaculorum,'  cities 
of  tabernacles,  undoubtedly  from  mis- 
taking the  original  for  rilDSII^^G  mish- 

kenoth,  which  signifies  tabernacles. 

^Pithom  andRaamses.  The  Jerus.  Targ. 
makes  these  places  to  be  Tanis  and 
Pelusium  ;  but  nothing  certain  can  be 
determined  respecting  their  site.  As 
the  land  of  Goshen,  however,  is  called 
'  the  land  of  Rameses,'  Gen.  47. 1 1 ,  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  the  latter  towTi 
was  in  that  land,  to  which  it  gave  or 
from  which  it  received  its  name.  See 
Professor  Stuart's  Course  of  Hebrew 
Study,  Vol.  II.,  Excursus  II.,  which  con- 


16 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1G35. 


12  But  the   morp   they   afTlicted  i  children   of  Israel  to   serve  with 
ihein,   the   more    they    multiplied 
and  ijrew.     And  they  were  irrieved 
berausf  u(  the  children  ol"  Israel. 

i:»  And  the  Egyptians  made  the 


tains  a  very  able  and  interesting  view 
of  the  topograjihy  of  tinshcn. 

12.  The  more  they  aJJUcted  them,  &c. 
Hob.  irH  "Zy^  TrXl  ka-a.sher-  yc-annu 
otho,  according  as  they  afflicted  him 
(collect,  sing.),  so  he  mxtUiplied  and  so 
he  brake  forth  (into  a  multitude).  The 
lallcr  verb  '^''■*,C"'  yiphrotz  is  the  same 
as  that  which  occurs  tlen.  2S.  14,  to  de- 
note a  rapid  and,  as  it  were,  a  burst- 
inn;  increase  and  dilfusion  ;  '  Thou  shalt 
spread  abroad  (yiiir  tiphrotz)  to  the 
west,  and  to  the  east,  and  to  the  north, 
and  to  the  south.'  The  liistorian's 
words  depict  to  us  the  conflict  between 
the  favor  of  God  and  the  cruelty  of  the 
Kgyptian  king.  Tlie  more  his  people 
sulfered  from  the  tyranny  of  their  mas- 
ters, the  more  prolific  the  women 
proved  to  be,  tlius  showing,  that '  there 
is  no  wisdom  nor  understanding  nor 
counsel  against  the  Lord.'  Some  com- 
mentators liave  been  disposed  to  resort 
to  natural  causes  to  account  for  tliis 
amazing  increase,  but  we  are  satis- 
fied with  tiie  solution  otfered  by  the 
words  of  the  promise.  Gen.  15.  5, '  Look 
now  toward  heaven  and  tell  tlie  stars, 
if  tliou  be  able  to  number  them — so  shall 

thy  seed  be.' tr   They  were  grieved 

because  of  the  children  of  Israel.  Heb. 
I^Tp"^  yakutzu.  The  leading  idea  is 
doubtless  that  of  mmgled  chagrin  and 
abhorrence.  Finding  that,  in  spite  of 
all  their  etforts,  tlie  people  continued  to 
increase,  they  were  tilled  with  inward 
Texation,  and  there  was  something  irk- 
some in  the  very  thought  of  the  hated 
race  of  Israel,  "chal. '  There  was  tribu- 
lation (vexation)  to  the  Egyptiaris  by 
rea-son  of  the  children  of  Israel.'  (^r. 
tliic\vaaovT>,  they  uere  abominated,  just 
as  one  is  said  to  be  *  scandalized'  by 
that  which  is  a  cause  of  otTence  j  they 


ngouT. 
14  And  they  ^made  their  lives 


>  ch.  2.  23.  &  6.  0. 
19,  34. 


NuiTib.  20.  15.     Acts 


regarded  the  Israelites  as  an  abomina- 
tion. The  import  of  the  original  word 
may  be  gathered  from  its  use  in  the  fol- 
lowing connexions.  Gen.  27.  46,  '  I  am 
weary  ("Ti^p)  of  my  life,  because  of 
the  daughters  of  Heth.'  Num.  21.  5, 
'  Our  soul  loaf  heth  (H'^p)  this  light 
bread.'  Lev.  20.  23,  '  They  committed 
all  these  things,  and  therefore  I  abhor- 
red (f  p!^)  them.'  A  passage  still  more 
to  the  point  occurs  Nurn.  22.  3,  where  a 
like  cause  of  vexation  is  hinted  at  ; 
'  And  Moab  was  sore  afraid  of  the  peo- 
ple, because  they  were  many  ;  and  Moab 
was  distressed  (f  p*^!)  because  of  the 
children  of  Israel ;'  where  Ainsw'orth 
renders,  as  in  Gen.  27.  46, '  was  irked.' 

13.  With  rigor.  Ueh.l^t'lbepharekj 
with  fierceness.  Gr.  /Jki,  with  force. 
Chal.  '  With  hardness.'  From  the  orig- 
inal "lis  pherek  comes  the  Latin  ferox 
and  the  English  fierce.  The  Israelites 
were  subsequently  prohibited  from  rul- 
ing in  this  manner  over  their  brethren, 
Lev.  25.  46,  '  But  over  your  brethren, 
the  children  of  Israel,  ye  shall  not  rule 
one  over  another  tnth  rigor  ClISS  bc- 
pherek)  ;'  i.e.  without  mercy.  So  far 
were  the  pretended  fears  of  the  Egypt- 
ians from  working  within  them  the 
least  sentiment  of  clemency,  that  they 
were  evidently  goaded  on  by  the  frus 
tration  of  their  hopes,  to  a  still  morf 
relentless  course  of  oppression.  Wicked 
men  are  slow  to  be  taught,  when  theij 
mad  schemes  are  defeated,  that  God 
figlits  against  them  ;  and  even  if  suet 
a  thought  now  and  then  glances  upor» 
their  minds,  they  seem  to  be  stung  and 
exasperated  by  it,  to  rush  on  yet  more 
recklessly  in  the  way  of  rebellion.  This 
is  strikingly  evident  from  the  sequel  of 
the  present  narrative. 

14,  Made  their  lives  bitter,  &c.    Gr 


B.  C.  1635.] 


CHAPTER  I. 


17 


KaToj^vviov  avT(ov  Tr]v  ((orji^  made  sori'oic-  I 
ful  their  life.    '  Of  a  bad  man  it  is  j 
said,  in  the  East,  '  He  makes  the  lives  { 
of  his   servants   bitter.'      Also,    *  Ah  ! 
the  fellow :  the  heart  of  his  wife  is  made 
bitter.'    <  My  soul  is  bitter.'    <  My  heart 
is  like  the  bitter  ircc,^— Roberts.    The 
intensity  of  their  hardships  could  not 
well  be  better  expressed,  for  as  nothing 
is  sweeter  than  life,  it  is  only  the  ox- 
tremest  misery  that  can  render  exist- 
ence  itself  grievous  and  burdensome. 

IT  In  mortar.   Heb.  "l^OHD  bchomcr  ; 

more  properly  <  in  clay'  of  which  bricks 
are  made.  This  is  considered  by  some 
as  subversive  of  the  statement  of 
Josephus,  that  the  pyramids  were  built 
by  the  Israelites,  as  it  is  well  known 
that  they  are  constructed  of  stone,  in- 
stead of  brick.  But  all  the  pyramids 
are  not  of  stone,  as  in  the  province 
of  Fayoum,  the  ancient  Arsinoe,  as 
also  at  Dashour  and  Saccara,  pjTamids 
of  sun-dried  brick  are  still  found  in  a 
remarkable  degree  of  preservation.  Yet 
even  if  they  were  all  of  them  stone 
structures,  it  is  not  a  legitimate  con- 
clusion that  because  the  Hebrews  work- 
ed in  brick,  they  therefore  did  not  work 
in  stone  also.  After  all,  however,  the 
agency  of  the  Israelites  in  rearing  the 
pyramids  is  a  point  on  wliith  nothing 
positive  can  be  asserted,  although  it  is  no 
doubt  safe  to  affirm  that,  (/"the  pyramids 
were  built  during  the  bondage  of  the  Is- 
raelites, they  were  engaged  upon  them, 
and  indeed  upon  all  the  public  works 
which  were  then  undertaken.  Prisoners 
and  slaves  would  seem  to  have  been 
generally  employed  in  such  labors  ;  for 
it  was  the  proud  boast  of  some  of  the 
princes  of  that  country,  that  no  Egyptian 
hand  had  labored  in  the  greatest  of  their 
works.  *  What  masses  were  employ- 
ed, and  how  profusely  human  life  was 
wasted,  is  evinced  by  the  statement  in 
a  previous  note,  that  Necho  worked 
away  100,000  lives  in  the  attempt  to 
cut  a  canal  from  the  Nile  to  the  Red 
Sea.  Things  are  much  the  same  now 
2* 


in  the  same  country.  Mehomct  Ali, 
the  Pasha  of  Egypt,  obliged  150,000 
men,  chiefly  Arabs  from  Upper  Egj'pt, 
to  work  on  his  canal  connecting  the  Nile 
with  the  sea  at  Alexandria :  20,000  of 
the  number  perished  during  the  progress 
of  tlie  work.  A  new  canal  was  in  pro- 
gress when  Came  was  at  Alexandria. 
That  writer  says  :  '  The  bed  of  the 
canal  presented  a  novel  spectacle,  being 
filled  with  a  vast  number  of  Arabs  of 
various  colors,  toiling  in  tlie  intense 
heat  of  the  day,  while  their  Egyptian 
(?)  task-masters,  with  whips  in  their 
hands,  watched  the  progress  of  their  la- 
bor. It  was  a  just  and  lively  repre- 
sentation of  the  children  of  Israel  forced 
to  toil  by  their  oppressive  masters  of 
old.  The  wages  Mahmoud  allowed  to 
these  unfortunate  people,  whom  he  had 
obliged  to  quit  their  homes  and  families 
in  Upper  Egypt,  were  only  a  penny  a 
day  and  a  ration  of  bread.'  ('  Letters 
from  the  East,'  p.  71,  72.)  Thus  were 
the  lives  of  the  Israelites  '  made  bit- 
ter  with  hard   bondage.' ' — Pict.   Bib. 

IT  In  all  manner  of  hard  service  in 

the  field.  That  is,  in  all  kinds  of  agri- 
cultural labor.  We  may  here  remark, 
that  although  the  condition  of  the  He- 
brews in  Egypt  at  this  time  was  one  of 
bondage,  yet  it  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  that  of  house-slaves  or  personal 
servants.  It  was  rather  a  servitude 
which  consisted  in  being  subject  to  very 
grievous  and  excessive  exactions  im- 
posed by  public  authority.  They  were 
slaves  to  the  state  rather  than  to  in- 
dividuals. In  this  respect  their  bondage 
differed  very  considerably  from  that 
which  is  unhappily  common  in  our  own 
country.  It  resembled  more  the  con- 
dition of  the  serfs  or  vassals  of  feudal 
times,  who  held  their  lands  at  the 
pleasure  of  their  lords,  and  who  were 
subject  to  any  exactions  of  rent  or  labor 
at  the  will  of  the  baron.  It  appears 
clear  from  Ex.  12.  38,  that  the  Hebrews 
as  a  body  had  continued  to  hold  prop- 
erty of  their  own,  though  heavy  bur- 


18 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1635. 


.81.  0. 


bitter  with  Jmrd  bondage,  "in  mor-  \  service  vrhercin  ibey   made   them 
tar,  and  in  hrick,  and  in  all  man-    serve  iras  with  riguur. 
ner  of  service  in  the  tield  :  all  their      15  ^  And  the  king  of  Egypt  spake 

to  the  Hebrew  midwives  (of  which 

quires  to  be  somewhat  more  particular- 
ly considered.  The  original  word  for 
'  midwives'  (ri"]^'^?^  mcyalledoth)  is 
not  a  substantive,  but  a  participle,  sig- 
nifying those  who  cause  to  bring  forth, 
and  the  words,  accoiding  to  several  of 
the  ancient  versions,  and  some  modern 
critics,  may  be  rendered,  *  And  the  king 
spake  to  those  who  made  or  aided  the 
Hebrew  women  to  bring  forth  ;'  thus 
understanding  from  the  original  '  mid- 
wives  of  the  Hebrew  women,'  instead 
of '  Hebrew  midwives.'  The  construc- 
tion certainly  renders  it  in  a  degree 
doubtful  whether  they  were  Egyptian 
or  Hebrew  women.  On  the  one  hand  it 
is  difficult  to  suppose  that  the  king 
should  have  entrusted  such  an  order  to 
Hebrew  women.  Could  he  have  sup- 
posed that  they  would  conspire  with 
him  in  an  attempt  to  extinguish  their 
own  race  ?  And  Avhen  they  excused 
themselves  by  the  plea  mentioned  v.  19, 
could  he  have  relied  implicitly  on  their 
word,  without  suspecting  fraud,  had 
they  been  Israelitish  women  ?  Yet  he 
seems  to  have  admitted  the  truth  of 
their  statement  witliout  the  slightest 
hesitation.  This  was  natural,  provided 
the  women  were  Egyptians,  but  less  so 
if  they  were  not.  It  is  indeed  said,  ver. 
17,  tliat  these  women  '  feared  God,'  and 
consequently  refused  to  obey  the  royal 
mandate  ;  from  which  it  is  inferred  that 
they  must  have  been  Hebrew  women. 
But  the  original  '  Elohim'  is  here  pre- 
ceded by  the  article,  and  may,  it  is  said, 
be  rendered  '  the  gods,'  i.  e.  the  powers 
above  ;  implying  merely  such  a  belief 
in  a  divine  being  and  a  superintending 
providence,  as  was  perhaps  generally 
prevalent  in  lliis  early  age  of  the  world. 
But  then,  on  the  other  hand,  (1.)  The 
more  obvious  import  of  the  text  leads 
us    to  understand   Hebrew  women  as 


dens  had  been  laid  upon  them ;  and  the 
accounts  given  elsewhere  of  the  offer- 
ings and  j)resenis  made  to  the  taberna- 
cle, &c.,  make  it  evident  that  the  nation 
as  such  had  not  been  reduced  to  pre- 
cisely that  kind  of  slavery  with  which 
we  are  fanuliar  in  modern  times.  They 
had  only  been  subject  to  severe  and  op- 
pressive demands  of  service,  in  behalf 
of  the  king  of  Egypt  and  his  officers. 
Still  it  was  a  state  of  cruel  suffering  to 
which  an  innocent  people,  against  the 
faith  of  covenants,  were  condemned, 
and  such  as  could  not  but  in  the  end 
draw  down  the  judgments  of  Heaven. 
But  let  us  not  forget  the  wise  and  ulti- 
mately beneficent  purposes  which  these 
afflictions  were  designed  to  subserve. 
To  the  suffering  Israelites  they  were  at 
once  penal  and  disciplinary.  One  great 
end  to  be  attained  by  them  was,  that 
they  might  be  inspired  with  so  deep  an 
abhorrence  of  the  land  of  their  oppres- 
sions, that  the  prospect  of  returning  to 
Canaan  should  become  more  and  more 
refreshing  to  their  hearts,  and  that  when 
once  embarked  in  the  journey  thither, 
they  might ,  remembering  the  wormwood 
and  tlie  gall,  feid  no  desire  to  retrace 
their  steps,  and  fix  themselves  again  in 
the  house  of  bondage.  And  as  tlie  ensu- 
ing narrative  acquaints  us  with  the  fact, 
that  notwithstanding  all  their  previous 
calamities,  many  of  them,  during  tlie  so- 
journ in  the  wilderness,  did  actually  pro- 
ject a  return  to  Egypt,  we  can  easily  con- 
jecture what  would  have  been  the  case 
had  they  lived  in  ease,  in  fulness,  and  in 
pleasure,  in  the  place  of  their  sojourn. 

1').  The  king:  of  Es;yfit  spake  to  the 
Hebrew  midwives.  Finding  himself 
hafflpd  in  his  first  scheme  of  open  and 
atrocious  wrong,  he  now  resorts  to  a 
secret  stratagem  of  a  more  bloody  char- 
acter to  compass  his  ends.    This  re- 


B.  C.  1635.] 


CHAPTER  I. 


19 


the  name  of  one  teas  Shiphrah,  and 
the  name  of  the  other  Puah  ;) 

16  And  he  said.  When  ye  do  the 
office  of  a  midwife  to  the  Hebrew 


meant,  whether  we  regard  the  construc- 
tion of  the  original,  or  of  the  transla- 
tion. Doubtless  there  were  Hebrew  wo- 
men capable  of  employing  themselves 
in  this  service  in  behalf  of  their  kindred, 
and  if  Egyptian  women  had  been  pro- 
cured, it  would  have  excited  suspicion 
at  once,  and  perhaps  prevented  their 
access  to  them.  (2)  It  cannot  be  de- 
nied that  the  character  given  of  them, 
V.  17,  as  '  fearers  of  God,'  applies  more 
naturally  to  Hebrew  women,  who  had 
been  instructed  in  the  religion  of  their 
fathers.  The  phrase,  we  think,  is  indi- 
cative of  general  character,  and  not  of 
any  sudden  dread  with  which  they  may 
have  been  smitten  on  this  occasion. 
Being  habitually  under  the  influence  of 
a  salutary  fear  of  God,  they  could  not 
be  persuaded  for  a  moment  to  entertain 
the  thought  of  such  horrid  cruelty, 
though  they  may  have  been  restrained, 
from  motives  of  policy,  from  expressly 
saying  to  the  king  at  the  time  that  they 
would  have  no  hand  in  the  perpetration 
of  such  a  deed.  (3)  Their  names  are 
purely  Hebraic  and  not  Egyjitian.  (4) 
As  to  the  improbability  of  Pharaoh's 
selecting  Hebrew  women  to  be  the  in- 
struments of  such  a  cruel  scheme  against 
their  own  flesh  and  blood,  it  may  be  re- 
plied that  the  same  reason  held  against 
his  appointing  Hebrew  officers  over  their 
own  countrymen,  which  yet  we  find  he 
actually  did,  Ex.  5.  14.  On  the  whole, 
therefore,  we  cannot  but  conclude  that 
the  midwives  were  Hebrew  and  not 
Egyptian  women,  notwithstanding  that 

Josephus  affirms  the  contrary. TT  The 

name  of  the  one  was  Shiphrah,  &c.  Two 
individuals  only  are  mentioned,  but  as 
this  number  would  be  -wholly  inade- 
quate to  the  service  of  so  many  thou- 
sand Israelites,  it  is  with  great  reason 
supposed,  that  Shiplu:ah  and  Puah  were 


women,  and  see  them  upon  the 
stools  ;  if  it  be  a  son,  then  ye  shall 
kill  him ;  but  if  it  be  a  daughter, 
then  she  shall  live. 


the  chief  persons  of  the  profession,  hav- 
ing the  direction  of  the  rest.  We  learn 
from  Plutarch,  that  some  of  the  nations 
of  antiquity  had  schools  established 
among  them  where  females  were  taught 
the  obstetrical  art.  This  was  perhaps 
the  office  of  these  tAvo  individuals. 

16.  See  them  upon  the  stools.  Heb. 
■0*^23X11  ^5"  al  ha-obnayim,  upon  the 
stones.  Commentators  have  been  much 
divided  in  opinion  as  to  the  natui'e  and 
use  of  the  objects  intended  by  the  term 
here  translated  stools,  but  which  is  liter- 
ally stones.  It  would  seem  perhaps  at 
first  view,  that  they  were  some  contriv- 
ance for  procuring  a  more  easy  delivery 
for  Avomen  in  labor.  But  besides  that, 
stone-seats  were  obviously  very  unfit  for 
such  a  purpose,  the  Heb.  word  in  Ex.  7. 
19,  signifies  a  vessel  of  stone  for  holding 
water,  a:' trough.  A  far  more  probable 
interpretation,  therefore,  is  made  out 
by  referring  the  pronoun  '  them,'  which 
it  will  be  observed  is  not  in  the  original, 
not  to  the  mothers,  but  to  the  children  ; 
*  When  ye  see  the  new-bom  children 
laid  in  the  troughs  or  vessels  of  stone, 
for  the  purpose  of  being  washed,  ye 
shall  destroy  the  boys.'  A  passage  from 
the  travels  of  Thevenot  seems  to  con- 
firm this  construction :  '  The  kings  ol 
Persia  are  so  afraid  of  being  deprived 
of  that  power  which  they  abuse,  and 
are  so  apprehensive  of  being  dethroned, 
that  they  destroy  the  children  of  their 
female  relations,  wlien  they  are  brought 
to  bed  of  boys,  hy  putting  them  into 
an  earthen  trough,  where  they  suflTer 
them  to  starve  ;'  that  is,  probably, 
under  pretence  of  preparing  to  wash 
them,  they  let  them  pine  away  or  des- 
troy them  in  the  water.  This  view  of 
the  meaning  represents  the  midwives 
above  spoken  of,  as  acting  in  the  capa- 
city of  st/perin/endcnfs,  for  they  are  not 


20 


EXODUS. 


fB.  C.  1635. 


17  But  the  niidwivcs  f'fcart'd  God, ! 
and  did  not  ras  the  kinij  of  Egypt 
cuinniandt'd  tlu-ni,   but  saved  ilie 
nu'n-ohililr»'n  alive.  j 

is  Aiul  the  kini;  of  Ecr>pt  called 
for  the   niidwives,   and   said   unto  j 
iheni,  Why  liave  ye  done  this  thins;, 
and  have  saved  liie  men-children 
alive  ?  I 

o  ProT.  16.  6.  P  Dan.  3.  16, 18.  &,  6. 13.  Acts 
8.W. 


supposed  to  place  the  children  on  the 
'  stools,'  but  to  examine  them  after  they 
arc  placed  there  by  others.  It  is  evident 
that  if  they  actually  assisted  at  the 
birth,  the  sex  of  the  infant  would  be  j 
known  without  the  necessity  of  inspect-  j 
ing  its  person  during  its  ablutions  at 

the  trough. IT  1/  it  be  a  son,  &c.  The 

reason  oftlie  order  is  obvious  ;  the  state 
had  noihiug  to  apprehend  on  the  score 
of  insurrection  from  the  weaker  sex, 
and  as  they  were  fairer  than  the  daugh- 
ters of  Kgypt,  they  would  naturally  be 
preserved,  with  a  view  to  their  finally 
becoming  inmates  of  the  harems  of  their 
lords. 

17.  The  miduives  feared  God,  &c. 
Their  faith  shines  conspicuous  in  this, 
for  they  must  have  been  aware  that  it 
was  dangerous  to  incur  the  king's  wrath 
by  disobeying  his  orders.  T}Tants  are 
not  wont  to  suffer  their  decrees  to  be 
disregarded  with  impunity,  and  it  wa,s 
no  doubt  at  the  peril  of  their  lives  that 
they  gave  way  to  the  dictates  of  piety 
towards  God  rather  than  comply  with 
the  injunction  of  the  king. 

19.  BecauMC  the  Hebrew  vomcn  are 
lively,  &c.  Heb.  riTl  ha-yoth  ;  i.  e. 
quick  and  strong  in  bearing  ;  being  pos- 
sessed of  greater  natural  vigor  and  ro- 
bustness of  constitution.  It  is  well 
known  that  women  inured  to  hard  labor 
have  but  lilile  pain  in  child-bearmg, 
compared  with  those  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  an  easier  mode  of  life.  It  is 
worthy  of  tu>te  also  that  the  original 
here  is  the  term  usually  applied  to 
tnld  beast*  (see  Note  on  Gen.  1.  24), 


19  And  qthe  midwives  said  unto 
Pharaoh,  Because  the  Hebrew  wo- 
men ore  not  as  the  Egyptian  wo- 
men ;  for  tiiey  are  lively,  and  are 
delivered  ere  the  mid  wives  come 
in  unto  them. 

20  «•  Therefore  God  dealt  well  with 
the  mid  wives  ;  and  the  people  mul- 
tiplied, and  waxed  very  mighty. 

q  See  Josh.  2. 4,  &c.  2Sarn.  17. 19, 20.  rProv. 
11.18.   Eccles.  H.  12.  Isai.  3.  10.  Ilebr.  6.  10. 

and  the  latent  implication  may  be,  that 
they  brought  forth  somewhat  after  the 
manner  of  the  beasts  of  the  forest, 
without  requiring  any  obstetrical  aid. 
Tliis  assertion  of  the  midwives  was 
doubtless  true  in  itself,  although  not 
the  whole  truth  ;  but  the  withholding  a 
part  of  the  truth  from  those  who  would 
take  advantage  of  the  whole  to  injure 
or  destroy  the  innocent,  is  not  only  law- 
ful but  laudable. 

20.  God  dealt  well  u-ith  the  midwives. 
We  may  doubtless  fairly  infer  from  this 
that,  in  some  way  not  expressly  record- 
ed, they  were  favored  with  special  to- 
kens of  the  divine  approbation  for  the 
conduct  they  had  evinced.  At  the  same 
time,  the  fact  of  granting  to  the  Israel- 
ites such  a  continued  extraordinary  mul- 
tiphcation  was  in  itself  a  '  dealing  well' 
with  the  midwives.  They  were  no  doubt 
many  of  them  mothers  themselves,  and 
they  could  not  but  rejoice  in  the  pre- 
servation and  the  increase  of  their  fami- 
lies, nor  could  the  general  favor  thus 
bestowed  upon  the  nation  fail  to  redound 
to  them.  Indeed,  we  are  strongly  in- 
clined to  consider  the  final  clause  of  this 
verse  as  perfectly  synonimous  with  the 
expression  '■  made  them  houses,'  in  the 
next.  The  connexion  between  the  two 
will  be  obvious  from  the  remarks  that 
iumicdiately  follow.  In  the  mean  time 
let  us  not  fail  to  observe,  that  an  up- 
right and  exemplary  conduct,  by  whom- 
soever displayed,  may  be  of  the  most 
eminent  service  to  a  whole  community. 
Even  a  few  feeble  but  right-minded 
women  may,  without  their  dreaming  of 


B.  C.  1635.] 


CHAPTER  I. 


21 


21  And  it  came  to  pass,  because 
the  midwives  feared  God,  sthat  he 
made  them  houses. 


»  See  1  Sam.  2.  35.    2  Sam. 
1  Kings  2.  24.  All.  38.  Ps. 


7.  1!,  13,27 
127.  1. 


the  effects  of  their  deportment,  be  si- 
lently working  out  the  welfare  of  the 
state  to  which  they  belong. 

21.  And  it  came  to  pass,  because,  Sic. 
The  original  will  easily  admit  a  slight 
variation  in  the  rendering  of  this  para- 
graph, which,  if  we  mistake  not,  will 
throw  light  upon  the  whole  context  ; 
'  And  it  came  to  pass,  because  the  mid- 
wives  feared  God,  and  (because)  he 
made  them  liouses  (i.  e.  increased  the 
progeny  of  the  children  of  Israel),  that 
Pharaoh  charged  all  his  people  saying,' 
&c.  It  is  important  for  the  English 
reader  to  be  informed  that  the  original 
for  '  them'  is  in  the  masculine  and  not 
in  the  feminine  gender  ;  so  that,  with- 
out a  violent  grammatical  anomaly,  it 
canno^  so  properly  or  primarily  be  refer- 
red to  the  midwives,  as  to  the  families  of 
Israel  at  large.  If  the  expression,  more- 
over, refers  strictly  to  the  midwives,  it 
would  have  been  more  natural  to  insert 
it  in  the  preceding  verse,  as  explanatory 
of  ihe  manner  in  which  God  '  dealt  well' 
with  them  ;  '  Therefore  God  dealt  well 
<vith  the  midwives,  and  made  them 
houses.'  But  this  is  not  the  construc- 
tion. There  is  nothing  to  illustrate  his 
'  dealing  well'  witli  them  but  his  mul- 
tiplying the  nation,  and  as  this  is  the 
undoubted  import  of  the  phrase  '  made 
them  houses,'  we  cannot  but  consider 
the  two  clauses  as  essentially  synoni- 
mous.  At  the  same  time,  there  is  perhaps 
no  good  reason  to  doubt  that  the  hovses  or 
families  of  the  midwives  were  intended 
to  be  especially,  but  not  exclusively, 
referred  to.  Their  houses  shared  in  a 
signal  manner  m  the  general  prosperity. 
We  may  now,  having  endeavored  to 
fix  the  connexion  of  the  context,  con- 
sider with  more  precision  the  import  of 
the  phrase  '  made  them  houses.'    We 


22  And  Pharaoh  charged  all  his 
people,  sayinij;,  t  Every  son  that  is 
bofn  ye  shall  cast  into  the  river,  and 
every  daughter  ye  shall  save  alive. 

t  Acts  7.  19. 


at  length  the  ideal  connexion  between 
building  and  the  begetting  of  children. 
In  the  scriptural  idiom  a  hottse  is  a 
family,  as  the  '  house  of  Judah,'  '  the 
house  of  Benjamin,'  the  house  of  David/ 
&c.,  and  to  build  or  make  one  a  house 
is  to  confer  upon  him  a  numerous  pos- 
terit}\  To  the  examples  there  adduced, 
the  following  may  be  added,  2  Sam.  7. 
11,  '  The  Lord  telleth  thee  that  he  wdll 
make  thee  an  house  (1^  niCy  tT^lZ)  ;' 
i.  e.  will  give  thee  a  long  line  of  des- 
cendants. 1  Kings,  2.  24, '  Now,  there- 
fore, as  the  Lord  liveth,  which  hath 
established  me,  and  set  me  on  the  throne 
of  David  my  father,  and  who  has  m,ade 
me  an  house  (n^2  "^'^  riu^y),  as  he  pro- 
mised, &c.,'  i.  e.  given  me  a  prosperous 
family.  The  phraseology  might  be  still 
farther  confirmed,  but  the  above  Avill  be 
suflicieni  to  show  that  the 'blessing'  in- 
tended w^as  that  of  a  nutncrotis  increase, 
and  not  of  a  material  habitation,  or  any 
thing  of  that  nature,  as  some  have  sup- 
posed. 

22.  Charged  all  his  people,  saying, 
&c.,  leaving  it  no  more  to  tlie  care  of 
the  midwives  alone.  Frustrated  in  his 
former  device,  the  king  is  now  urged  on 
to  a  higher  pitch  of  enormity,  and  dis- 
carding all  secret  stratagems  for  effect- 
ing Ins  object,  commands  all  Ids  people 
indiscrinunately  to  destroy  the  Hebrew 
male  children  wherever  they  should  find 
them.  The  execution  of  this  bloody 
command  would  no  doubt  lead  to  scenes 
of  barbarity  and  cruelty  at  which  every 
tender  feeling  of  our  nature  revolts  with 
an  inward  shudder.  Helpless  babes 
would  be  mercilessly  torn  from  their 
mothers'  arms,  and  if  they  did  not  fol- 
low their  dear  offspring,  as  they  were 
ruthlessly  thrown  into  the  Nile,  it  was 


22 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1635. 


only  booausc  their  religious  sentiments 
were  slronsjer  than   their  iiiatiMn:il  in- 
slinrt.s.     Hilt  wo  read,  in  a  suhM'qurnt  | 
part  of  the  hi>tory,  a  fearful  requital  of 
this  ^an.;uimiry  transaction,  when  Pha- 
raoh and  hi.s  Egyptian  liost  were  over-  I 
whelmed  in  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea.  | 
'  Righteous  art  thou,  O  Lord,  because  j 
thou  ha.st  judged  thus.'  [ 

Rr.ji.\RKs.— (1,2.)  In  the  history  of 
ihe  churdi,  it  is  the  special  aim  of  the 
Spirit  to  present  its  humble  beginnings 
in  strong  contrast  witli  the  abundant 
increase  and  ample  prosperity  of  its 
more  advanced  j)eriods. 

(7.)  The  land  of  enemies,  and  the 
scene  of  the  most  grinding  oppression, 
is  easily  rendered  in  the  providence  of 
God  a  nursery  for  the  increase  of  his 
church. 

(i<.)  Peculiar  blessings  from  God,  and 
fierce  opj)osition  from  worldly  powers, 
arc  not  unfrequently  connected  in  the 
lot  of  the  church  on  earth. 

(S.)  The  people  of  God  would  have 
experienced  less  ill  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  civil  governments,  were  the 
national  benefits  which  they  arc  instru- 
mental in  procuring  better  appreciated 
and  remembered. 

(b,  9.)  The  prosperity  of  the  right- 
eous is  doubtless  an  eye-sore  to  evil- 
minded  oppressors  ;  but  those  who  task 
iheir  invention  to  devise  methods  of 
aflliction  are  dealing  wisely  to  compass 
their  own  destruction.  Eccl.  7.  16, 
'Make  not  thyself  over  wise:  why 
shouldest  thou  destroy  tliyself?' 

(10.)  Much  of  tiie  real  suffering  of 
the  saints  in  all  ages  has  been  inflicted 
on  the  gminid  of  hypothetical  offences. 
'  Lest  when  there  fallcth  out,'  &c. 

(11.)  Counsels  of  wickedness  ripen 
rapidly  into  acts  and  jjractices  of  cruelty. 

(13,  14.)  The  favor  of  God  toward 
hi»  children  in  affliction,  is  often  the 
signal  for  their  oppressors  to  load  them 
with  new  burdens  of  anguish. 

(1.1.)  How  fiendish  is  the  policy 
which   would  employ  the  tender  and 


susceptible  nature  of  woman  in  execut- 
ing deeds  of  blood  ! 

(17.)  The  true  fear  of  God  will  deter 
the  weakest  creatures  who  are  capabla 
of  cherishing  it,  from  the  commission 
of  sin,  and  when  the  command  of  man 
is  put  in  competition  with  the  command 
of  God,  they  will  boldly  say  with  the 
intrepid  disciples,  Acts,  4. 19,  '  Whether 
it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken 
unto  you  more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye.' 

(20.)  Even  in  this  world  a  supreme 
regard  to  the  will  of  God  seldom  goes 
unrewarded.  This  reward  is  sometimes 
entailed  as  a  precious  legacy  to  generzi- 
tions  yet  unborn. 

(22.)  Relentless  persecutors  proceed 
from  secret  subtilty  to  open  cruelty,  and 
downright  murder  is  the  resource  when 
other  stratagems  have  failed  of  effect- 
ing their  object. 


CHAPTER  II. 
To  what  extent  the  murderous  edict 
mentioned  at  the  close  of  the  foregoing 
chapter  w  as  carried,  or  how  long'  it  con- 
tinued in  force,  we  are  not  informed. 
But  when  we  consider  that  the  love  of 
offspring  was  an  absorbing  passion  with 
the  Israelites,  inasmuch  as  all  their 
future  hopes  depended  upon  and  were 
connected  with  the  possession  of  a  nu- 
merous issue,  we  can  easily  conceive 
the  horror  that  must  have  hung  over 
that  ill-fated  people  so  long  as  the 
bloody  statute  remained  unrepealed. 
Yet  now,  at  this  very  time,  when  men 
in  their  weak  counsels  proposed  utterly 
to  root  up  the  vine  of  Israel,  which  had 
already  spread  its  branches  so  widely 
and  borne  such  abundant  fruit,  it  pleased 
God  to  call  into  existence  the  future 
Deliverer,  and  to  make  the  very  evils  to 
which  his  infancy  was  exposed,  the 
means  of  his  preparation  for  that  high 
oflice,  which  was,  in  a  distant  day,  to 
devolve  upon  him.  This  remarkable 
event  in  the  history  of  oppressed  Israel 
it  is  the  object  of  the  present  chapter  lo 
relate. 


B,  C.  1573.] 


CHAPTER  11. 


23 


CHAPTER  n. 
A  ND  there  went  aa  man  of  the 
-ty.  house  of  Levi,  and  took  to  wife 
a  daughter  of  Levi. 

a  ch.  6.  20.    Numb.  26.  59.    1  Chron.  23.  14. 


1.  And  there  went  a  man,  Sac,  Heb. 
'ib'^T  va-yelck.  According  to  Calvin, 
there  had  gone  ;  implying  that  the  mar- 
riage had  taken  place  some  time  previ- 
ous to  the  royal  order  for  the  drowning 
of  the  male-children.  Certain  it  is  that 
Aaron  was  three  years  old  at  the  birth 
of  Moses,  and  we  have  no  intimation 
that  his  infancy  was  in  any  way  ex- 
posed to  peril.  As  such  an  order  would 
naturally  be  executed  with  most  severity 
immediately  upon  its  being  issued,  and 
as  Aaron's  infancy  was  unmolested,  it 
seems  a  fair  presumption  that  the  edict 
came  forth  not  far  from  the  birth-tim.e 
of  Moses  ;  so  that  the  pluperfect  rend- 
ering of  the  verb  may  perhaps  be  con- 
sidered the  most  correct.  The  verb 
'  to  go,'  by  a  peculiarity  of  idiom  in  the 
original,  is  frequently  employed  in  a 
sense  including  not  the  idea  of  locomo- 
tion, but  simply  that  o{  commencing,  or 
entering  upon,  an  action  or  enterprise  ; 
thus.  Gen.  35.  22,  '  And  it  came  to  pass, 
when  Israel  dwelt  in  tliat  land,  that 
Reuben  went  and  lay  with  Bilhah  his 
father's  concubine.'  Deut.  31.  1,  '  And 
Moses  went  and  spake  these  words  unto 
all  Israel.'  Hos.  3.  1,  '  Then  said  the 
Lord  unto  me.  Go,  yet  love  a  woman 
beloved  of  her  friend.'  The  a\  jrd  in 
such  connexions  may  not  improperly  be 
considered  as  an  expletive.  Something 
similar  occurs  in  the  New  Testament, 
Eph.  2.  17,  '  And  came  and  preached 
peace  to  you.'  So  also  1  Pet  3.  19, 
*  By  which  also  he  went  and  preached 
unto  the  spirits  in  prison.' — The  nam.e  of 
the  man  here  mentioned  was  Amram,  the 
son  of  Kohath,  the  son  of  Levi,  Ex.  6. 
16 — 20,  and  the  name  of  the  woman 
whom  he  took  to  wife  was  Jochebed, 
the  sister  of  Kohath,  and  consequently 
the  aunt  of  Amram,  Ex.  6.  20.  Num.  26. 


2  And  the  woman  conceived  and 
bare  a  son:  and  bwhen  she  saw 
him  that  he  was  a  goodly  child., 
she  hid  him  three  months. 

b  Acts  7.  20.    Hebr.  11.23. 


19.  Marriage  connexions  between  kin- 
dred thus  nearly  related  was  afterwards 
forbidden  under  the  law,  Lev.  18.  12, 
but  more  indulgence  was  granted  in  this 
and  other  respects  in  the  early  and  un- 
settled state  of  the  commonweal-lh. 

2.  And  the  woman  conceived.  The 
anxiety  and  apprehension  naturally  in- 
cident to  the  delicate  situation  in  which 
Jochebed  found  herself,  must  have  been 
aggravated  by  terrors  more  dreadful  than 
the  prospective  pangs  of  child-birth,  or 
the  loss  of  life  itself.  As  a  Avife  and  a 
mother  in  Israel,  she  was  looking  and 
longing  for  the  birth  of  another  man- 
child  ;  but  that  fond  expectation  was  as 
often  dashed  by  the  bitter  reflection, 
that  an  order  had  gone  forth  which 
would  in  all  probability  consign  her 
son,  if  she  should  bear  one,  to  the  jaws 
of  the  devouring  crocodile  of  the  Nile. 
Yet  it  would  seem  not  improbable  from 
the  apostle's  words,  Heb.  11.23,  that 
some  extraordinary  presentiments  in 
the  minds  of  his  parents  accompanied 
the  birth  of  this  illustrious  child,  and 
strengthened  the  faith  under  which  he 
was  hidden  for  three  months  from  the 
rage  of  the  Egyptian  dragon,  which 
stood  eager  for  his  prey  as  soon  as  it 

should  see  the    light,    Rev.  12.  4. 

IT  Whe7i  she  saw  him,  that  he  was  a 
goodly  child.  Heb.  mt2  tob,  good.  The 
original  term,  as  remarked  on  CTeu.  39. 
6,  is  used  to  denote  bodily  endowments, 
as  well  as  the  qualities  of  the  heart, 
and  its  import  may  be  learned  from  the 
corresponding  Gr.  phrase  employed  by 
Stephen,  Acts,  7.  20,  ,i<jT£t>i  rt.)  9(w, 
fair  to  God,  i.  e.  divinely  or  exceedingly 
fair.  In  Heb.  11.  23,  the  epithet  is  the 
same  (ao-rtni)  but  rendered  'proper.' 
The  implication  obviously  is,  that  an 
extraordinary  beauty  distinguished  the 


24 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1571. 


3  And  when  she  could  not  longer  i  of  bulrushes,  and  daubed  it  with 
hide  him,  she  took  for  him  an  ark    slime  and  with  pitch,  and  put  the 


smiling  babe  that  now  reposed  in  his  | 
mother's  arms.    To  ihe  fond  eye  of  ma-  \ 
ternalatfectionfiTTj/clnldis  lovely, and  ! 
we  can  only  account  for  the  strong  lan- 
guage used  licre  and  elsewhere  in  regard 
to  Moses,  by  su})j)osing  that  his  infant 
features  possessed  a  grace  and  comeli- 
ness tliat  were  perliaps  without  a  paral- 
lel. We  must  recognize  in  this  a  special 
providence,  for  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  uncommon  beauty  of  the  child  was 
a  stmng  motive  with  llie  parents  for  so 
anxiously   aiming    to    secure    it    from 
harm.     Tliis  is  clearly  intimated  in  the 
words  of  the  apostle,  Heb.  11.  23,  'By 
faith  Moses,  when  he  was  born,  was 
hid  throe  months  of  his  parents,  because 
they  saw  that  he  was  a  proper  child,' 
&c.    It  may  be  supposed  moreover  that 
this  circumstance  was  ordered  by  provi- 
dence m  order  to  afford  to  Pharoah's 
daughter  a  stronger  motive  for  preserv- 
ing the  child.     But  the  dearer  the  com- 
fort the  greater   the   care,   and  under 
their    present    circumstances    we    can 
easily  imagine  that  every  lovely  linea- 
ment in  the  countenance  of  her  child 
would  weave  a  new  fold  of  anguished 
anxiety  in  her  own  face  as  she  gazed 
upon  ii,  and  thought  of  the  jeopardy  to 
•which  he  was  exposed.     For  the  space 
of  three   months  she   was    permitted, 
through  her  precautions,  from  day  to  day 
to  fondle  and  nourish  the  helpless  babe, 
though  her  heart  trembled  at  the  sound 
of  every  tread  while  so  em])loyed,  just 
as  the  miser  dreads  the  noise   of  ap- 
proaching footstejts  while  surveying  and 
counting  over  his  lioarded  wealth.     But 
at  th*'  end  of  that  jjeriod,  ll)e  rigor  of  the 
search  on  tlie  part  of  her  enemies  con- 
vinced   her   that    farther    concealment 
would  be  impracticable,  and  that  she 
must  part  with  hej  treasure. 

3.  S\e  took  for  him  an  ark  of  bul- 
rvshet,  &c.  tieb.  St?23  Tir  tabafh  gome, 
ark  nfbulruih.   The  Plgyptian  papyrus. 


The   original   term   is  derived  from  a 
verb  signifying  to  suallow,  to  sup  up, 
to  drink,  and  is  so  named  from  its  re- 
markably absorbing  the  water  where  it 
grows,  as  appears  from  Job.  8.  11, '  Can 
the  rush  (j!i?23  gome)  grow  up  without 
mire  ?'     It  is  a  plant  growing  on  the 
banks    of    the    Nile,    and    in    marshy 
grounds.     The  stalk  is  of  a  vivid  green, 
of  a  triangular  form,  and  tapering  to- 
wards tlie  top.     At  present  it  is  rarely 
found  more  than  ten  feet  long,  about  two 
feet  or  little  more  of  the  lower  part  ol 
the   stalk   being   covered  with   hollow 
sharp-pointed  leaves  which  overlap  each 
other  like  scales,  and  fortify  the  most 
exposed  part  of  the  stem.   It  terminates 
in  a  luft  or  cro\vn  of  small  grassy  fila- 
ments, each  about  a  foot  long.    Near 
the  middle  each  of  these  filaments  parts 
into  four,  and  in  tlie  point  of  partition 
are  four  branches  of  flowers,  the  termin- 
ation of  which  is  not  unlike  an  ear  ot 
wheat  in  form,  but  is  in  fact  a  soft  silky 
luisk.    This  singular  vegetable  was  used 
for  a  variety  of  purposes,  the  principal 
of  which  was  tlie  structure  of  boats  and 
the  manufacture  of  paper.    In  regard  to 
the  first,  we  are  told  by  Pliny  that  a 
piece  of  the  acacia-tree  was  put  in  the 
bottom  to  serve  as  a  keel,  to  which  the 
plants  were  joined   lengthwise,  being 
first  sewed  together,  then  gathered  up 
at  stcui  and  stern,  and  made  fast  by 
means  of  a  ligature.     These  vessels  are 
still  to  be  seen  on  the  engraven  stones 
and  other  monuments  of  Eg5i3tian  an- 
tiquity.    According  to  Dr.  Shaw,  the 
vessels  of  bulrushes  or  papyrus  men- 
tioned in    sacred   and  ])rofane  history 
were  no  other  than  large  fabrics  of  the 
'  same  kind  with  that  of  Moses,  which 
I  from  the    introduction    of  plank    and 
I  stronger  materials,  are  now  laid  aside 
I  The  prophet's  words.  Is.  18.  2,  '  That 
'  sendeth  aml)assadors  by  the  sea,  even 
I  in  vessels  of  bulrushes  upon  the  waters,' 


B.  C.  1571.] 


CHAPTER  II. 


25 


child  therein ;  and  she  laid  it   in 
the  flags  by  the  river's  brink. 


are  supposed  to  allude  to  the  same  kind 
of  sailing  craft.  Pliny  takes  notice  of 
the  '  naves  papyraceas  armeutaque  Nili;' 
ships  made  of  the  papyrus,  and  the 
equipments  of  the  Nile  ;  and  Lucan,  tlie 
poet  has,  '  Conscritur  bibula  Memphi- 
tis  cymba  papyro/  the  Memphian  (or 
Egyptian)  boat  is  made  of  the  thirsty 
papyrus,  where  the  epithet  '  bibula/ 
drinking,  soaking,  thirsty  is  particular- 
ly remarkable,  as  corresponding  with 
great  exactness  to  the  nature  of  the 
plant,  and  to  its  Hebrew  name.  The 
Egypfian  bulrush  or  papyrus  required 
much  water  for  its  growth  ;  when  there- 
fore the  river  on  whose  banks  it  grew 
was  reduced,  it  perished  sooner  than 
other  plants.  This  explains  Job,  8.  11, 
where  the  circumstance  is  referred  to  as 

an  image  of  transient   prosperity. 

IT  Daubed  it  u-ith  slime  and  with  pitch. 
Heb.  "l?2nn  ba-hemor,  with  bitumen,  or 
mineral  pitch.  See  Note  on  Gen.  11.  3. 
The  '  bitumen'  cemented  the  rushes  or 
reeds  together,  the  pitch  served  to  keep 
out  the  water.  '  There  seems  to  be  con- 
siderable analogy  between  the  ark  or 
boat  in  which  Moses  was  deposited, 
and  the  curious  vessels  which  are  at 
the  present  day  employed  in  crossing 
the  Tigris.  They  are  perfectly  circular 
in  shape,  and  are  made  with  the  leaves 
of  the  date-palm,  forming  a  kind  of 
basket-work,  which  is  rendered  impervi-  [ 
ous  to  the  water  by  being  thickly  coaled 

with  bitumen.'     Pict.  Bib. IT  Laid 

it  in  the  flags.  Heb.  t]"D3  bassuph,  in 
the  sea-weed,  or  sedge.  The  suph  was 
probably  a  general  term  for  sea  or  river- 
weed.  The  Red  Sea  is  always  called, 
in  the  Scriptures  rjlC  tj^  yam  suph,  or 
the  weedy-sea,  as  some  suppose,  from 
the  great  variety  of  marine  vegetables 
which  grow  in  it,  and  wliicli  at  low  water 
are  left  in  great  quantities  upon  the 
shores.  But  see  Note  on  Ex.  13.  IS. 
Vol.  I  3 


4  c  And  his  sister  stood  afar  off,  to 
wit  what  would  be  done  to  him. 

c  ch.  15.  20.    Numb.  26.  59. 

4.  And  his  sister  stood  afar  off,  &c. 
His  sister  Miriam  undoubtedly,  as  we 
have  no  account  of  his  having  any 
other.  She  was  unquestionably  older 
than  Aaron,  or  she  would  have  been 
unfit  for  such  an  office  on  this  occasion. 
The  incident  makes  it  plain  that  the 
little  ark,  though  made  water-tight,  was 
not  deposited  on  the  bosom  of  the  river, 
where  it  would  be  borne  away  by  the 
current,  but  on  the  margin  of  the  stream, 
where  perhaps  the  finder  would  infer 
that  it  had  lodged,  after  having  floated 
down  from  above.  Throughout  the 
whole  of  this  transaction,  which  was 
no  doubt  supernaturally  suggested,  no 
mention  is  made  of  the  father.  That 
every  thing  was  done  with  his  privity 
and  consent  we  cannot  doubt,  lor  the 
apostle  couples  both  the  parents  in  his 
encomium  on  their  faith  ;  but  the  case 
was  probably  one  in  which  the  faith  of 
the  mother  was  more  decided  and  active 
than  that  of  the  father,  and  has  there- 
fore more  prominence  given  it  in  the 
sacred  narrative.  The  proceeding  de- 
tailed is  a  beautiful  illustration  of  the 
connexion  wliich  should  always  exist 
between  the  diligent  use  of  means  and 
a  pious  trust  in  Providence.  Instead 
of  sitting  down  in  sullen  despair,  or  pas- 
sive reliance  on  divine  interposition, 
every  thing  is  done  which  can  be  done 
by  human  agency  to  secure  the  wished- 
for  result.  The  careful  mother  pitches 
every  seam  and  chink  of  the  frail  ve- 
hicle as  anxiously  as  if  its  precious  de- 
posit were  to  owe  its  preservation  solely 
to  her  care  and  diligence.  Nor  even  yet 
does  she  think  she  has  done  enough. 
Miriam  her  daughter  must  go,  and  at  a 
distance  watch  the  event,  and  strange 
would  it  be  if  she  did  not  herself  in  ihe 
mean  time  take  a  station  where  she 
could  watch  the  watcher.  And  here  we 
behold  all  the  parties  standing  precisely 


f^ 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1571. 


5  H  And  the  J  ilauc:hter  of  Pharaoh 
came  down  to  Ava^-h  /jrrsc/f  at  the 
river ;  and  her  maidens  walked 
ahmjj  by  the  river's  side  :  and 
when  she  saw  the  ark  among  the 

d  Acis  7.21. 


upon  the  hne  where  the  province  of  hu- 
iniin  sir^iicity,  foresight,  and  industry 
ends,  and  providential  succor  begins. 
The  mother  has  done  her  part.  The 
rusljos,  the  slime,  and  the  pitch  were 
her  prudnit  and  necessary  preparations  ; 
and  the  great  (iod  has  been  at  the  same 
time  pieparing  his  materials,  and  ar- 
ranging his  instruments.  He  causes 
every  thing  to  concur,  not  by  miraculous 
influence,  but  by  the  simjJe  and  natural 
operation  of  second  causes,  to  bring 
about  the  issue  designed  in  his  counsels 
from  everlastmg.  The  state  of  the 
weather,  the  flux  of  the  current,  the 
promenade  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  the 
state  of  her  feelings,  the  steps  of  her 
attendants,  are  all  so  overruled  at  that 
particular  juncture,  as  to  lead  to  the 
discovery,  t)ie  rescue,  and  the  disposal 
of  the  child  !  But  let  us  not  anticipate 
the  thread  of  the  story. 

5.  The  daughter  of  Pharoah  came 
dou'ii  to  wash  herself  at  the  river.  Heb. 
"St*"?!  ^>  al  ha-yeor,  at  or  by  the  river. 
(Jr.  tTi  T:)f  TTOTiijt.v,  to  bc  trauslatcd  in 
the  same  manner,  implying  that  the 
washing,  which  was  probably  a  religious 
ablution,  and  not  a  proper  bathing, 
was  jierformed  just  at  tlie  river's  brink. 
The  wasliing  of  Naaman  the  Syrian, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  said  to  have  been 
in  the  Jnrdna  ("("Il'^n  ha-ynrdcn)  and 
not  at  it,  because  he  entered  further  into 
the  stream.  We  advert  to  tlie  phrase- 
ology here  i)rinci))ally  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  the  relation  of  the  (Jr.  ren- 
df-ring  to  a  parallel  passage  in  Rev.  9. 
II,  'Loose  the  four  angels  which  are 
biiund  ftf  (  -.  n*,  not  in)  the  great  river 
Kuphrates;'  i.  e.  the  four  angels  which 
n.id  hithTto  boen  prcr.identially  re- 
strained f>r  confined  ///  the  vicinity  of 


flags,  she  sent  her  maid  to  fetch  it. 
0  And  when  she  had  opened  ?Y, 
she  saw  the  child :  and  behold,  the 
babe  wept.  And  she  had  com- 
passion on  him,  and  said,  This  is 
one  of  the  Hebrew's  children. 


the  great  river  Euphrates.  '  Angels' 
here  is  a  symbolical  term  for  the  na- 
tions or  people  over  wliich  they  are  re- 
presented in  prophecy  as  presiding. 
See  Dan.  10.  3.  The  import  of  the  com- 
mand is,  that  tliose  obstructions  which 
had  hitherto  opposed  the  issuing  forth 
and  the  desolating  spread  of  four  great 
political  powers  in  the  region  bordering 
upon  the  Euphrates,  should  now  be  re- 
moved and  free  scope  given  them. 
These  powers  were  the  origin  of  the 
Ottoman  empire,  which,  as  it  was  an- 
nounced by  the  sixth  trumpet,  was  to 
be  destroyed  by  the  sixth  vial.     Rev. 

16.  12. IT  She  sent  her  maid  to  take 

it.  Heb.  rinpr;"!  vattikkahcha,  and  took 
it ;  i.  e.  she  took  it  by  the  hand  of  her 
maid ;  by  which  term  is  meant  the 
maid  who  more  immediately  waited 
upon  her,  as  the  word  (nn?2i^)  is  dif- 
ferent from  that  ("'^rilS'j)  translated 
'  maidens.' 

6.  She  saiv  the  child :  and  behold,  the 
babe  wept.  Rather  according  to  the 
Heb.  '  And  she  saw  him,  the  child  j  and 
behold  a  male-infant  weeping  ."  The 
Eng.  word  '  babe,'  as  it  does  not  dis- 
criminate  the  sex,  is  not  an  exact  or 
adequate  rendering  of  the  original  15'2 
naar,  which  strictly  denotes  a  male 
child,  and  is  here  used  expressly  for 

tliat  ])urpose. IT  She  had  compassion 

on  him.  Or,  Heb.  ^!*2nri  tahmol,  mer- 
c  if  idly  spared  him.  If  there  be  an  ob- 
ject in  nature  more  calculated,  than  any 
other  to  interest  and  affect  the  suscepti- 
ble heart  of  woman,  it  was  that  which 
now  presented  itself  to  the  eye  of  this 
Egyjttian  princess — a  beautiful  infant, 
deserted  by  i*s  parents,  exposed  to  the 
most  imminent  peril,  and  expressing  by 
the  moving  testimony  of  tears  its  sense 


B.  C.  1571.] 


CHAPTER  ^I. 


27 


7  Then  said  his  sister  to  Pharaoh's 
daughter,  Shall  I  go,  and  call  to 
thee  a  nurse  of  the  Hehrew  wo- 
men, that  she  may  nurse  the  child 
for  thee  ? 

8  And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said  to 
her,  Go.  And  the  maid  went  and 
called  the  child's  mother. 

9  And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said 
unto  her,  Take  this  child  away  and 

of  that  misery  of  which  it  had  not  yet 
acquired  the  consciousness.  The  story 
told  itself.  The  situation  in  which  the 
child  was  foimd  explained  the  cruel  oc- 
casion. Tlie  covenant-sign  wMch  he 
carried  engraven  on  his  flesh,  declared 
to  whom  he  belonged,  and  notwitlistand- 
ing  the  scruples  which  must  have  arisen 
from  his  parentage,  his  outcast  condi- 
tion made  an  irresistible  appeal  to  the 
bosom  of  Pharaoh's  daughter. 

7.  Then  said  his  sister,  &c.  Who  no 
doubt  came  up  and  joined  the  train,  as 
if  by  accident.  If  she  had  not  been 
previously'  instructed  by  her  mother 
what  to  say  on  the  contingency  of  such 
an  occurrence  as  now  actually  took 
place,  we  cannot  but  refer  tliis  sugges- 
tion on  the  part  of  a  little  girl  to  an  im- 
mediate inward  prompting  from  above. 
How  else  should  it  have  entered  her 
thoughts  to  propose  making  the  mother 
of  the  exposed  infant  its  nurse  ?  Can 
we  fail  to  acknowledge  the  secret  hand 
of  the  Lord  of  hosts, '  who  is  wonderful 
in  counsel  and  excellent  in  working?' 

9.  Take  this  child  away  and  nurse 
it  for  me,  &c.  No  mere  human  writer 
could  here  haA^e  well  forborne  to  dilate 
in  glowing  terms  on  the  transports  of 
the  happy  mother  as  she  again  clasped 
her  beloved  babe  to  her  bosom,  free 
from  the  fear  of  having  him  again  torn 
from  her.  What  a  joyful  change  !  The 
fond  mother  permitted  to  do  that  for 
prmcely  hire  and  under  royal  protection 
which  she  would  have  given  her  life  for 
the  privilege  of  doing  for  nothing,  could 
she  have  done  it  with  safety  to  her  j 


I  nurse  it  for  me  and  I  will  give  thee 
thy  wages.  And  the  woman  took 
I  the  child  and  nursed  it. 
j  10  And  the  child  grew,  and  she 
I  hrought  him  unto  Pharaoh's  daugh- 
I  ter,  and  he  became  e  her  son.  And 
I  she  called  his  name  Moses:  and 
I  she  said,  Because  I  drew  him  out 
of  the  water. 

e  Acts  7.  21. 

child !  '  I  will  give  thee  thy  wages.' 
Wages,  indeed  !  What '  wages'  would 
not  she  have  given  for  the  extacy  she 
now  enjoyed  in  the  prospect  of  acting 
the  mother  to  the  son  of  her  womb  ! 
What  sentiments  of  adoring  wonder  and 
grateful  praise  must  have  thrilled  her 
heart  in  view  of  the  overwhelming  good- 
ness so  kindly  and  unexpectedly  vouch- 
safed to  her  from  the  God  of  all  comfort ! 
10.  She  brought  him,  &c.  At  what 
age  the  future  deliverer  of  Israel  was 
transferred  from  the  care  of  his  mother 
to  the  palace  and  the  court  of  Egypt, 
we  are  not  informed.  It  would  seem 
from  the  history  that  he  was  old  enough 
to  have  learnt  the  principles  of  his  an- 
cestral religion,  in  which  his  mother 
would  not  fail  to  instruct  him  ;  and 
thougli  it  was  somewhat  of  a  renewed 
trial  to  her  to  part  with  her  son,  under 
the  apprehension  that  the  influence  of  a 
heathen  and  hostile  court  might  alienate 
his  tender  mind  from  the  love  of  God 
and  his  people,  yet  she  would  doubtless 
infer  from  the  past  incidents  of  his  life 
that  sometliing  great  was  in  store  for 
him,  and  that  the  same  tutelary  provi- 
dence  which  had  watched  over  his  in- 
fancy, would  make  his  childhood  and 
youth  and  mature  age  its  special  care. 
He  came  accordingly  into  the  relation 
of  an  adopted  son  to  Pliaraoh's  daugh- 
ter, and  was  by  her,  for  an  end  of  which 
she  little  dreamed,  '  trained  up  in  all 
the  wisdom  of  the  Egyjitians.'  As  the 
book  of  Revelation  is  constructed  with 
a  continual  or  running  reference  to  the 
events  of  the  Old  Testament  history, 


28 


FA'ODrS. 


[B.  C.  1571. 


1 1  T  \n(l  it  came  to  pass  in  those  '  and  loolvcd  on  their  ghurdens :  and 
dav«^  fwhen  Moses  was  jrroAvn,  he  spied  an  Esfvptian  smiting  an 
that  he  went  out  unto  liis  brethren,  j  Hebrew,  one  of  his  brethren. 

f  Acts  T.  23,  24.     Hebr.  11.2J,  23,  26.  ffch.  1.  11. 


we  cannot  doubt  tliat  there  is  a  real  I  11.  When  Moses  um  grown.  Hob. 
though  covert  allusion  to  the  history  ^-31  yigdal,  had  become  great,  not 
of  .Moses  in  the  vision,  Ch.  12,  of  the  I  in  stature   only,  but   in   repute,  influ- 

'  ence,  and  consideration  at  court.     This 
is  in  several  unequivocal  instances  the 


draijon,  the  sun-clad  woman,  and  the 
child  to  which  she  gave  birth.  The 
dragon's  standing  before  the  woman 
ready  to  devour  her  child  as  soon  as  it 
should  be  born,  is  strikingly  in  analogy 
with  the  bloody  edict  of  Pharaoh,  whom 
the  j)roj)hets  denominate  the  Egyptian 
dragon,  Kzek.  29.  3,  while  the  child's 
being  caught  up  to  God  and  his  throne, 
has  an  equally  distinct  reference  to  the 
wonderful   preservation    and  elevation 

of  .Moses  as  here  described. IT  She 

called  his  name  Moses.  Heb.  riw?2 
Mosheh,  from  the  verb  {1-72  mashah, 
to  drau'  out,  a  term  occurring  Ps.  18.  16, 
*  He  sent  from  above,  he  took  me  ;  he 
drew  me  C^^TTi"^  yamsheni)  out  of 
many  waters ;'  where  the  Psalmist 
seems  to  liken  his  preservation  to  that 
of  Moses,  unless  indeed,  wdiich  we 
rather  incline  to  believe,  he  is  giving 
an  allegorical  history  of  the  church 
from  its  earlier  periods,  and  has  here  a 
designed  but  mystic  allusion  to  the  very 
person  and  deliverance  qf  Moses,  in 
whose  j)reservation  that  of  Israel  was 
concentrated.  It  has  indeed  been  a  mat- 
ter of  dispute  among  critics  whether  the 
name  were  truly  of  Hebrew  or  Egj-ptian 
origin.  Yet  the  former  is  most  proba- 
ble, a.s  a  Hebrew  etymology  seems  to 
be  d.-'signedly  given  it  by  the  sacred 
writer.  Although  the  Egyptians  did 
not  speak  the  Hebrew  language,  yet  as 
it  appears  from  P2x.  11.2,  that  the  two 
people  lived  in  a  great  measure  inter- 
mingled togriher,  the  language  of  each 
might  have  been  to  a  considerable  ex- 
lent  understood  by  the  other  ;  and  in 
ihc  ])rospnt.case  it  woidd  not  be  unnat- 
ural that  a  Hebrew  child  should  have 
bestowed  upon  it  a  Hebrew  name. 


Mbrce  of  the  original,  and  it  is  said  of 
him  by  Stephen  that  he  '  Avas  mighty 
both  in  word  and  de/'d,'  as  well  as  that  he 
had  attained  the  full  age  of  forty  years. 

IT  Went  out  unto  his  brethren,  and 

looked  on  their  burdens.  Heb.  J^l'^l 
DD^SC^  va-yar  besiblotham.  Gr.  K-ara- 
vot)iai  Tov  TTovov  (it-rwf,  Considered  their 
labor.  Chal.  '  Saw  their  servitude.' 
Verbs  of  the  senses  often  imply  in  the 
Scripture  idiom  a  connected  working  of 
the  emotions  or  affections  of  the  heart. 
Here  '  looking  upon'  is  viewing  with 
sympathy  and  compassion,  having  his 
heart  touched  with  the  spectacle.  Gen. 
29.  32, '  And  Leah  conceived  and  bare  a 
son,  and  she  called  his  name  Reuben : 
for  she  said,  surely  the  Lord  hath  look- 
ed upon  my  afflictions  ;'  i.  e.  hath  mer- 
cifully regarded.  Eccl.  1. 16, '  My  heart 
had  great  experience  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge  ;'  Heb.  '  Mylieart  saiv  wis- 
dom and  knowledge.'  Eccl.  2.  ], '  I  said 
in  my  heart,  go  to  now,  I  will  prove 
thee  v.'ith  mirth,  therefore  enjoy  plea- 
sure ;'  Heb.  '  see  pleasure.'  Ps.  118.  7. 
'  Therefore  shall  I  see  (my  desire)  upon 
them  that  hate  me.'  We  must  regard 
this  as  the  incipient  working  of  that 
noble  spirit  which  finally  prompted 
Moses  to  forego  the  honors  of  the  court 
of  Egy]it,  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  the 
despised  people  of  Israel.  Ease  and 
affluence  generally  tend  to  deaden  the 
sensibilities  of  the  heart  to  the  wants 
and  woes  of  others.  But  Moses  seems 
never  to  have  forgotten  his  extraction, 
nor  to  have  lost  his  sj'mpathies  with 
the  chosen  race.  He  remembered  that 
the  oppressed  and  suffering  Israelites 


B.  C.  1571.] 


CHAPTER  II. 


29 


were  his  nearest  and  dearest  relations, 
and  though  now  ignorant  perhaps  of  the 
part  whicli  he  was  destined  to  act  in 
their  deliverance,  he  was  unable  to  rel- 
ish a  solitary  selfish  joy,  while  they 
were  eating  the  bread  and  drinking  the 
water  of  affliction.  He  therefore  goes 
out  to  look  upon  their  misery,  or  as 
Stephen  says,  Acts,  7.  23, '  It  came  into 
his  heart  to  visit  his  brethren,'  and 
though  for  the  present  he  can  neither 
remove  nor  alleviate  it,  yet  he  is  deter- 
mined to  evince  his  willingness  to  be  a 
partaker  in  it.  But  the  most  fitting 
commentary  upon  tliis  passage  is  found 
in  the  words  of  the  apostle,  Heb.  ll'. 
23 — 26,  '  By  faith  Moses,  when  he  was 
come  to  years,  refused  to  be  called  the 
son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter  ;  choosing 
rather  to  sufier  affliction  with  the  peo- 
ple of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures 
of  sin  for  a  season  ;  esteeming  the  re- 
proach of  Clirist  greater  riches  than  the 
treasures  in  Egyjit :  for  he  had  respect 
unto  the  recompense  of  the  reward.'  By 
his  '  refusing  to  be  called  the  son  of  Pha- 
raoh's daughter,'  we  are  not  probably 
to  understand  that  he  rejected  the  nom- 
inal appellation,  but  according  to  the 
true  force  of  the  orignal,  which  has 
reference  rsUher  to  the  reality  of  things 
than  to  their  denomination,  he  refused 
to  be  treated  as  her  son,  he  positively 
declined  all  the  honor  and  aggrandize- 
ment which  was  implied  in  that  rela- 
tion. This  was  his  deliberate  choice, 
and  perhaps  no  man  was  ever  called  to 
make  a  cncice  imder  circumstances  more 
trying,  or  made  one  which  redounded 
more  to  his  credit  and  glory  than  this 
of  Moses.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that 
he  was  at  this  time  of  mature  age, '  full 
forty  years  old,'  says  Stephen.  He  had 
reached  the  grand  climacteric  of  life, 
all  his  faculties  perfectly  ripened,  and 
his  judgment  calm,  unclouded,  and  dis- 
passionate. Were  not  this  the  case, 
had  he  been  now  just  emerging  from 
youth,  with  all  the  sanguine  and  enthu- 
siastic ardor  of  dawning  manhood  upon 
3 


him,  it  might  have  been  regarded  as 
the  effect  of  a  rash  excitement,  as  a 
sudden  sally  of  the  buoyant  tempera- 
ment of  liis  age,  and  one  which  he  would 
afterwards  have  regretted  or  condemned. 
Had  it  occurred  later  in  life,  when  the 
powers  and  energies  of  liis  mind  were 
on  the  wane,  when  the  pursuits  of  am- 
bition and  tlie  prospects  of  pleasure  had 
vanished,  it  might  have  been  stigma- 
tized as  the  act  of  an  old  worn-out 
courtier,  whose  disgusted  satiety  of  this 
world's  good  had  driven  him  to  the  sorry 
refuge  of  seeking  something  better  in 
another.  It  might  easily  have  been 
characterised  as  the  mean  compromise, 
of  a  man  in  his  dotage  with  an  uneasy 
conscience,  for  having  squandered  his 
youthful  prime  and  his  manly  meridian 
in  the  service  of  the  world  to  the  neg- 
lect of  his  Maker.  But  every  such  im- 
putation is  cut  off  by  tlie  facts  of  the 
case.  It  was  not  a  step  prompted  by 
the  precipitate  ardor  of  youth,  nor  one 
dictated  by  the  timid  or  sordid  policy 
of  age.  It  was  a  decision  formed  under  f. 
circumstances  in  which  deep  principle, 
and  not  3.  passionate  impulse,  must  have  ' 
been  the  ruling  motive  ;  for  while  in 
a  worldly  sense  he  had  nothing  to  hope 
from  a  transfer  of  himself,  he  had,  on 
the  other  hand,  every  thing  to  lose. 
We  have  only  to  appeal  to  our  know- 
ledge of  human  nature  to  learn  the  dif- 
ficulty, and  consequently  the  virtue,  of 
such  a  sacrifice  as  Moses  now  made. 
When  we  compare  the  resjjective  states 
of  the  Egyptian  and  the  Israelitish  peo- 
ple, it  would  seem  to  human  view  that 
the  lot  of  the  meanest  Egyptian  was  pre- 
ferable to  that  of  the  highest  Israelite. 
Yet  Moses  voluntarily  gave  up  the  one 
for  the  other  ;  '  the  honors  of  the  pal- 
are  for  the  ignominy  of  tlie  brick-yard.' 
Though  he  was  tlie  adopted  son  of  Piia- 
raoh's  daughter,  and,  for  aught  that  ap- 
pears to  the  contrary,  was  the  presump- 
tive heir  to  the  crown,  yet  he  refused 
not  to  come  do^\Ti  from  this  preeminent 
distinction,  and  to  cast  in  his  lot  with 


30 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1571. 


iho  dosjiisod  and  ombondagod  seed  of 
Jacob.  History  alfords  us  some  few  in- 
stances whore  kings  have  laid  aside  their 
purple  and  abdicated  their  thrones.  But 
in  all  such  cases  they  have  descended 
to  a  rank  in  jirivate  life  which  was  sur- 
rounded by  ease,  affluence,  and  coii- 
tinued  respectability  ;  so  that  their  sacri- 
fices were  relieved  by  many  counter- 
vailing considerations.  But  Moses  de- 
scended from  the  dignity  of  a  court  to 
the  degradation  of  a  slave.  What  was 
there  in  the  vaunted  condescension  of 
Dioclesian  or  Charles  the  Vth.  to  be 
compared  with  this  ?  And  where,  in  all 
the  annals  of  time,  shall  we  find  such  a 

surrender  made  from  such  motives  ? 

IT  Spied  an  Ei^yptian  smiting  an  He- 
brew. Probably  one  of  the  task-masters. 
As  the  original  word  for  smiting  {TllJ^ 
makkeh)  is  the  same  with  that  rendered 
sleir  ("T'l  yak)  in  the  next  verse,  it  is  to 
be  presumed  that  the  Egyptian  was  act- 
ually attempting  to  kill  the  Hebrew, 
and  tliat  had  it  not  been  for  the  inter- 
im venlioii  of  Moses,  he  -u'ould  have  eftect- 
ed  his  jturpose.  Thus  Ps.  136.  17,  '  To 
'  him  which  smote  (nS?3  makkeh)  great 


kins 


i.  e.  that  slew.     It  is  important 


to  view  this  incident  in  connexion  with 
what  Stejihen  says  of  it.  Acts,  7. 23 — 25, 
'  And  when  he  was  full  forty  years  old, 
it  came  into  his  heart  to  visit  his  breth- 
ren the  children  of  Israel.  And  seeing 
one  of  them  suffer  wrong,  he  defended 
him,  and  avenged  him  that  was  oppress- 
ed, and  smote  the  Egyptian:  for  he 
5^ijipo.scd  liis  brethren  would  have  un- 
derstood iiow  that  God  by  his  hand 
would  flelivcr  them:  but  they  under- 
stood not.'  It  is  undoubtedly  to  be  sup- 
posed that  Moses  was  now  acting  under 
a  divine  commission,  and  that  an  im- 
mediate iinjiulsp  from  the  Spirit  of  God 
prompted  him  to  the  deed  here  record- 
ed. This  is  to  be  inferred  from  the 
words  of  Stejilien,  '  for  he  supposed 
his  brethren  would  have  understood  how 
that  (Jod  by  his  hand  would  deliver 
them  :'    imj.lyine   that  Moses  himself 


understood  this  to  be  the  fact.  It  is 
however  worthy  of  note  that  Diodorus 
Siculus  informs  us  that  a  law  existed  in 
Egypt,  which  might  have  been  at  this 
time  in  force.  '  That  whoever  saw  his 
fellow-creature  either  killed  by  another, 
or  violently  assaulted,  and  did  not  either 
apprehend  the  murderer,  pr  rescue  the 
oppressed  if  he  could  ;  or  if  he  could 
not,  made  not  an  information  thereof  to 
the  magistrate,  himself  should  be  put  to 
death.'  For  aught  that  can  be  affirmed 
to  the  contrary,  Moses  might  have  been 
warranted  on  this  ground  alone  in  pro- 
ceeding to  the  extremity  he  did.  The 
act  however  cannot  be  pleaded  as  a  pre- 
cedent on  occasions  that  are  not  similar. 
It  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  the 
conduct  of  Phineas  on  another  occasion, 
Numv  25.  7,  13,  a  conduct  Avhich  was 
certainly  approved  of  God.  If  it  be  ob- 
jected that  the  secrecy  observed  by  Mo- 
ses both  in  performing  the  act  and  in 
dis})0sing  of  the  body,  is  scarcely  con- 
sistent with  the  idea  of  his  being  em- 
powered by  the  call  and  authority  of 
God  to  execute  his  pleasure  on  this  oc- 
casion, it  may  be  observed,  that  as  his 
calling,  though  clear  to  himself,  had 
not  yet  been  publicly  manifested  or  ac- 
credited, it  was  fitting  that^a  temporary 
concealment  should  be  drawn  over  the 
present  occurrence.  Thus  Ehud,  Judg. 
3.  21,  though  moved  by  an  influence 
from  above,  slew  Eglon  king  of  Moab 
in  a  private  chamber  ;  and  Gideon, 
Judg.  G.  27,  before  his  office  o^  deliverer 
was  ])ublicly  known,  demolished  the 
altar  of  Baal  by  night.  Again,  if  it  be 
asked  what  reason  Moses  had  to  sup- 
pose that  his  brethren  would  have  un- 
derstood that  he  was  acting  by  a  divine 
commission,  it  maybe  answered,  *.hat 
the  marvellous  circumstances  of  his 
birth  and  preservation,  and  subsequent 
training  in  the  court  of  Pharaoh,  were 
doubtless  matters  well  known  and  much 
talked  of  among  the  nation  of  Israel, 
from  which  they  might  reasonably  infer 
I  that  he  was  raised  up  for  some  extraordi- 


B.  C.  1531.] 


CHAPTER  11. 


31 


12  And  he  looked  this  way  and 
tliat  way,  and  Avlien  he  saw  liuit 
there  was  no  man,  he  •»  slew  tlie 
Egyptian,  and  hid  him  in  the  sand. 

13  And  iwhen  he  went  out  the 
second  day,  behold,  two  men  of 
the  Hebrews  strove  together :  and 
he  said  to  him  that  did  the  wrong, 

h  Acts  7.  24.     i  Acts  7.  26. 

nary  end.  It  was  before  this  time,  tliat 
Stephen's  testimony  assures  us  he  had 
'  become  mighty  in  words  and  in  deeds.' 
And  when  he  was  seen  to  come  forth 
alone,  and  take  vengeance  on  one  of 
their  oppressors,  it  might  have  been 
presumed  that  he  regarded  himself  as 
directed  by  God  in  what  he  had  under- 
taken. But  the  result  showed  that  the 
expectation  of  being  recognized  in  his 
true  character  was  premature. 

12.  He  looked  this  icay  and  that  imy, 
&c.  Evidently  implying  that  he  was 
not  exempt  from  some  inward  wavering 
of  spirit  in  thus  entering  upon  his  mis- 
sion. But  if  oppression  maketh  a  wise 
man  mad,  we  may  easily  perceive  that 
his  natural  indignation,  joined  to  a  con- 
scious impulse  from  above,  was  suffi- 
cient to  urge  him  forward  to  the  act  re- 
cordedj 

13.  Behold,  two  men  of  the  Hebrews 
strove  together.  Heb.  'a^'2^  nitzim, 
fighting.  Whatever  were  the  occasion 
of  this  unhappy  contest,  it  must  have 
been  mortifying  to  Moses  to  behold  it. 
As  if  they  had  not  enemies  enough  in 
their  common  cruel  taskmasters,  they 
fall  into  strife  with  each  other  !  Alas, 
that  sufferings  in  common  should  fail  to 
unite  the  professing  people  of  God  in 

the  strictest  bonds  of  brotherhood. 

IT  He  said  to  him  that  did  the  wrong. 
Heb.  5'Jlb  larasha,  to  the  wicked  one. 
The  Gr.  however  renders  very  correctly 
by  TO)  ii6tKo<'i'rt^  to  the  wrong-doer,  and 
Stephen  confirms  the  same  version, 
Acts,  7.  26,  '  Sirs,  ye  are  bretliren,  whj^ 
do  ye  wrong  (nfH<eiTc)  one  to  another?' 
in  the  case  of  the  offending  Egyptian 


Wherefore  smitest  thou  thy   fel- 
low? 

14  And  he  said,  i«Who  made  thee 
a  prince  and  a  judge  over  us  ? 
intendest  tliou  to  kill  me,  as  thou 
killedst  the  Egyptian  ?  And  Moses 
feared,  and  said,  Surely  this  thing 
is  known. 

k  Act.s  7.  27,  28. 


Moses  administered  reproof  by  a  mortal 
blow,  but  he  tries  to  gain  a  contending 
brother  by  mild  and  gentle  means.  In 
the  former  instance  he  acted  more  as  a 
judge  ;  in  the  present,  as  a  peace  maker. 
His  question  has  indeed  the  air  of  being 
sternly  proposed,  but  there  was  nothing 
in  it  which  could  not  or  should  not  have 
been  said  by  one  Israelite  to  another ; 
and  we  ought  never  to  think  it  going 
beyond  the  bounds  of  charity  or  duty, 
where  we  are  satisfied  on  which  side 
the  wrong  lies,  to  call  an  offender  to  ac- 
count by  an  equally  plain  interrogation. 
Every  man  should  look  upon  himself  as 
at  least  so  far  appointed  a  guardian  of 
the  general  interests  of  justice  and  of 
right  as  to  expostulate  in  pointed  terms 
with  the  injurious  and  overbearing. 

14.  Who  made  thee  a  prince  and  a 
judge  over  us  ?  Heb.  '  Who  set  thee 
for  a  man  a  prince  and  a  judge  over  us  V 
Moses  intended  merely  to  administer  a 
mild  and  friendly  reproof,  and  yet  how 
roughly  is  his  admonition  received. 
The  man  could  not  easily  have  given 
a  plainer  testimony  of  his  guilt  than  by 
such  a  choleric  reply.  What  authority 
did  Moses  assume  in  thus  gently  re- 
proving a  manifest  outrage  ?  Does  one 
need  a  commission  to  perform  an  act 
of  real  kindness,  and  to  endeavor  to 
make  friends  of  apparent  enemies?  Yet 
how  boldly  does  he  challenge  his  au- 
thority as  if  he  were  imperious  and  pre- 
suming. It  is  rare  virtue  ingenuously 
to  confess  our  faults  and  to  receive  cor- 
rection with  meekness  ! IT  Intendest 

thou  to  kill  me,  as  thou  killedst  the 
Egyptian  ?     Heb.  ^?3i<  ntlji^  '^^ain^n 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1531. 


15    Now   when   Pliaraoh    heard 
this  thing,  lie  sought  to  slay  Mo- 
ses.    But   'Moses   lied   from    the 
»Act8  7.  a«.    Hebr.  11.27. 

halhorgani  aitah  omer,  say  est  thou  to 
kill  tne  f  Svc  Note  on  tioii.  20.  1 1.  We 
here  bt-hohl  a  .«>trikii)g  ^jieciiiu-n  of  the 
bas.0  ctmslruclions  wliicli  lui  ill  iniiul  will 
put  iijn)ii  tla*  best  words  and  actions. 
What  right  had  he  to  charge  Moses 
with  a  niiirderous  intention  ?  He  had 
indeed  slain  an  Egyptian,  but  an  Egypt- 
ian was  not  a  Hebrew,  nor  had  he  any 
grounds  to  su])pose  tliat  Moses  would 
go  farther  than  tlie  provocation  war- 
ranted. The  occasion  called  simply  for 
a  reproof,  and  a  reproof  was  the  head 
and  front  of  liis  offending  ;  yet  the  ag- 
gressor would  turn  away  the  force  of 
his  rebuke  by  pretending  that  he  aimed 
at  nothing  less  than  his  life  !  Besides, 
why  should  he  cast  the  slaying  of  the 
Egyptian  in  Moses'  teeth,* when  he  had 
really  done  it  from  his  regard  to  his 
own  countrymen  ?  Should  not  this  quar- 
relsome Hebrew  have  taken  it  rather  as 
a  proof  of  Moses'  favorable  feelings 
towards  himself  than  as  an  evidence  of 
a  wish  to  harm  him?  If  he  had  not 
loved  the  Hebrews  would  he  have  dis- 
patched one  of  their  enemies  ?  But 
reason  and  humanity  speak  in  vain  to 
those  whom  a  guilty  conscience  leads 
to  pervert  the  wisest  and  the  kindest 

counsels. IT    Surely    this    thing    is 

knoicn  ;  i.  e.  his  slaying  tlio  Egj^ptian. 
Heb.  "ll~ri  haddabar,  this  word.  See 
Note  on  Gen.  15.  1.  Moses  was  satis- 
fied from  this  that  the  Hebrew  whom 
he  had  liberated  the  day  before  by 
slaying  the  Egyj)lian,  had  divulged  the 
circumstance,  and  not  doubting  that  it 
would  soon  come  to  the  ears  of  the 
king,  began  to  be  in  dread  of  his  life, 

1.'^.  When  Pharaoh  heard  this  thing, 
&c.  He  soon  learnt  tliat  his  fears  were 
well  founded.  Pharaoh  was  apprised 
of  the  fact  of  his  having  put  an  Egypt- 
ian to  dcatbj  and  Moses  was  at  once 


lace  of  Pharaoh,  and  dwelt  in  the 
land  of  IMidian :  and  he  sat  down 
by  •«  a  well. 


m  Gen.  24.  11.  &  29.  2. 


marked   as   the   victim   of   his   wrath. 
This  was  perhaps  not  so  much  with  a 
view  to  avenge  the  death  of  a  single  in- 
dividual of  the  Egyptian  race,  as  be- 
cause Moses  had  by  this  act  discovered 
himself  to  be  a  friend  and  favorer  of 
the  oppressed  Israelites,  and  given  the 
king  reason  to  suspect  that  he  was  se- 
cretly cherishing  the  purpose  of  one  day 
attempting   to   effect   their    liberation. 
His  only  safety  therefore  was  in  flight. 
This  would  subject  him  to  great  trials 
and  privations,  and  had  his  heart  Ijeen 
less  firmly  lixed  in  the  great  purpose 
which  he  had  adopted,  he  v.'ould  have 
sought  rather  to  make  his  peace  wdth 
the  king,  his  benefactor,  and  to  retain 
his  place  at  court.     But  he  had  made 
his  election,     and    now    chose    rather 
to  wander  through  dreary  deserts  than 
to  be  reconciled  to  the  enemies  of  his 
people.      The    providence   which   thus 
withdrew    the   destined    agent    of   de- 
liverance  from   the   field  of  action  in 
the  very  outset  of  his  work,  would  seem 
at  first  view  extremely  mysteriows  and 
adverse.     But  infinite  wisdom  saw  that 
he   needed    a   quite   different    training 
from  that  which  he  would  receive  in  a 
luxurious  court,  in  order  to  fit  him  for 
the  hard  services  which  awaited  him. 
He  sends  him  to  school  therefore   for 
forty  years  in  the  desert  to  qualify  him 
the  better  for  leading  his  people  through 
their  forty  years  sojourn  in  the  desert. 
<  God,'   says   Henry,   '  fetches   a   wide 
compass   in  liis  plans,  but  his  eye  is 
continually  upon   the   grand    point   at 
which  he  aims.' — It  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  there  is  any  real  discrepancy 
between  this  passage  and  Heb.  11.27, 
'  By  faith  he  forsook  Egypt,  not  fearing 
the  wrath  of  the  king.'     The  Apostle 
alludes  not  to  his  flight  into  IMidian, 
but  to  liis  final  departure  from  Egypt  at 


B.  C.  1531.] 


CHAPTER  II. 


33 


16  «Now  the  priest  of  Midian  had 
seven  dau^liters  :  "and  they  came 
and  drew  icatcr,  and  filled  the 
troughs  to  water  their  father's  Hock. 

och,3.  1.  oGen.24.  11.&29. 10.  1  Sam.  9. 11, 


the  head  of  the  children  jof  Israel. 

IT  Dwelt  in  the  land  of  Midian.  Heb. 
n"«:'i  yesheb,  sat  down  ;  the  same  word 
in  the  original  with  th.il  applied  in  the 
ensuing  clause  to  his  sealing  himself  by 
the  well.  Probably  in  both  cases  the 
time  implied  is  that  of  his./irsf  arrival 
in  Midian,  the  one  referring  us  in  gen- 
eral to  the  country  in  which  he  stopped 
on  his  route,  the  other  to  the  particular 
place  which  was  the  scene  of  the  inci- 
dents subsequently  related.  Coming  to 
that  land  he  halted  in  his  sojourning, 
and  finding  a  refreshing  well  of  water 
he  sat  down  or  tarried  a  longer  time 
than  usual  by  the  side  of  it.  Otherwise 
we  seem  to  be  forced  to  the  awkward 
construction  that  the  dwelling  men- 
tioned in  our  translation,  which  implies 
somewhat  of  a  permanent  abode,  was 
prior  to  bis  sitting  by  the  well,  which 
evidently  is  not  the  sense  of  the  passage. 
— Midian  was  a  country  in  Arabia  Pe- 
traea,  deriving  its  name  from  Midian, 
the  fourth  son  of  Abraham  bjj^  Keturah. 
It  was  situated  on  the  south  of  the  Dead 
Sea  and  the  land  of  Moab,  and  probably 
comprehended  the  wjiole  country,  as  far 
south  as  the  Red  Sea.  It  is  at  least 
certain,  that  if  the  country  of  Midian 
did  not  actually  reach  to  Sinai,  there 
were  colonies  of  the  Midianites  who 
settled  near  that  mount,  and  who  also 
gave  the  surrounding  districts  the  name 
of  the  '  Land  of  Midian.'  Among  those 
emigrants  who  preserved  the  worship 
of  God  in  comparative  purity  when  lost 
amongst  their  countrymen  in  the  north, 
was  Jethro,  with  whose  family  Moses 
here  comes  into  connexion. 

16.  The  priest  of  Midian  had  seven 
dant^hters.  Heb.  y^'j  kohen.  Chal. 
'  The  prince  of  Midian,'     The  original 


word    signifies 


prmce 


17  And  the  shepherds  came  and 
drove  them  away:  hut  AToses  stood 
up  and  helped  them,  and  p  watered 
their  flock. 


PGon.  2a.  10. 


'priest,'  as  is  shown  in  the  Note  on 
Gen.  41.  18,  and  accordingl}'^  in  the  ear- 
1}'^  ages  of  the  world  both  tliese  ollices 
were  often  united  in  one  and  the  same 
person.  The  humble  occupation  of  his 
daughters  will  be  no  objection  to  this 
view  of  the  title,  if  tlie  difference  be- 
tween ancient  and  modern  customs  be 
duly  considered.  See  Note  on  Gen.  48. 
45.  Nearly  all  the  ancient  versions,  be- 
sides the  Chaldee,  adhere  to  the  sense 
of  '  priest  j'  but  whether  he  w^ere  the 
priest  of  a -true  or  false  religion,  is  not 
so  clear.  Being  in  all  probability  de- 
scended from  Midian  the  son  of  Abra- 
ham by  Keturah,  it  is  perhaps  most 
reasonable  to  infer  that  he  retained  the 
leading  doctrines  of  the  faith  of  his 
great  progenitor,  though  possibly  cor- 
rupted in  some  measure  by  the  admix- 
ture of  errors  originating  in  the  sur- 
rounding systems  of  heathen  idolatry. 
From  what  we  are  subsequently  in- 
formed of  Jethro,  he  seems  to  have 
possessed  a  kndwledge  of  the  true  God, 
and  to  have  been  imbued  with  senti- 
ments of  piety ;  and  this  supposition 
is  strengthened  when  we  consider  the 
improbability  of  Moses'„eutering  into  a 
marriage  alliance  with  the  family  of  an 
idolater, 

17.  The  shepherds  came  and  drove 
them  away.  Heb.  Dl^ZJia"'  yegareshum, 
where  the  pronominal  suffix  answering 
to  '  them'  is  in  the  masculine,  and  not 
in  the  feminine  gender  ;  from  which  we 
are  doubtless  to  understand  that  the 
daughters  of  Reuel  were  accompanied 
by  men-servants  who  were  under  their 
direction.  It  would  be  strange  indeed 
for  a  company  of  unprotected  females  to 
be  thus  employed,  and  equally  strange, 
if  tliey  were  without  assistance,  ttiat 
such  savage  rudeness  should  be  ]jrac- 


31 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  15:^1. 


18  And  nlion  tlM'Vcamo  to^ricuel 
their  father,  he  saul,  IIow  is  it  that 
ye  are  come  so  soon  to-day  ? 
'  m  And  they  said,  An  Kiryptian 
delivered  us  out  vC  the  hand  of 
the  slieplierds,  and  also  drew  ica- 

S  Numb.  10  29.  rli  3.  1.  A  4   18.  &  18.  1.  <kc. 


tiscd  toward  thorn  by  the   shepherds. 

See   Note  on  (k-n.  29,  3. IT  Moses 

$tood  up  and  helped  them.  Heb.  Gp"^ 
"p-T'l  yakom  va-yoshian,  arose  and 
saved  them .  Or.  ciiovnaro  unruj,  deliver- 
ed them.  Here  again  we  are  probably 
required  to  suppose  a  fact  not  expressly 
mentioned  in  the  sacred  record,  viz.  tliat 
Moses  travelled  with  attendants.  Join- 
ing his  sersants  \v'n\\  those  of  Reuel;  a 
party  was  formed  snfticiently  strong  to 
over]H)wer  the  shepl\erd-booi-s  who  had 
so  rudely  attempted  to  drive  away  the 
flocks  of  the  young  women. ir  Wa- 
tered their  flock.  Heb.  C2K2I  tzonam. 
Helj)ed  to  water  them.  Here  too  the 
pronominal  suffix  '  their'  is  in  the  mas- 
culine gender. 

18.  Came  to  Rexiel  their  father.  The 
assignment  of  the  names  Reuel,  or  Rag- 
uel  (Num.  10.29),  Jethro  and  Hobab, 
to  the  proprr  persons  is  no  easy  matter. 
It  is  supposed  by  many  that  Jethro  and 
Reuel  were  but  different  names  of  the 
same  ])rrson.  Others  consider  Reuel  as 
the  father  of  Jethro,  and  the  grand-father 
of  the  maidens  here  spoken  of,  but  call- 
ed their  father  in  conformity  to  a  very 
common  idiom  in  the  original,  of  which 
see  examples,  Gi-n.  31.  43.  2  Sam.  19.25. 
2  Kings,  14.  3.  16.2.  KS.  3.  So  Targ. 
Jon.  '  They  came  to  Reguel,  their  fa- 
ther's father.'  Dut  as  Reuel  seems  ob- 
rionsly  to  have  been  the  same  person 
as  the  priest  of  Midian,  who  had  the 
seven  dau'.,'hters,  an  office  which  he 
probably  would  not  have  lield  liad  his 
father  brrn  alive,  and  as  lie  is  the  one 
who  is  said  v.  21,  to  have  given  Moses 
his  daughter  to  wifr,  an  act  more  ap- 
propriate to  a  father  than  to  a  grand- 
father, provided  both  were  living,  as  it 


trr  enough  for  us,  and  watered  llie 
ilock. 
20  And  he  said  unto  his  daugh- 
ters, And  where  is  he  ?  why  is  it 
that  ye  liave  left  the  man  ?  call 
him,  that  he  may  'eat  bread. 

r Gen.  31.  54.  &  43.  25. 


is  clear  tliey  were  if  they  were  different 
persons ;  we  cannot  but  give  a  decided 
preference  to  the  former  opinion,  which 
makes  Jethro  and  Reuel  the  same  per- 
son, but,  for  reasons  now  unknown  to 
us,  called  by  different  names.  As  to 
Hobab,  mentioned  afterwards,  Num.  10. 
29,  he  is  expressly  affirmed  to  be  the 
son  of  Reuel  (Raguel)  '  Moses'  father- 
in-law,'  which  would  seem  to  preclude 
all  controversy  on  the  subject.     But  see 

Note  in  loc. IT  How  is  it  that  ye  are 

come  so  soon  to-day.  Heb.  542  'p'ln^ 
mihartcn  bo,  hastened  to  come. 

19.  An  Egyptian  delivered  us,  &c. 
This  they  inferred  from  his  speech  and 
dress,  or  they  had  learned  from  his  own 
mouth  the  coimtry  from  which  he  came. 

IT  Drew  (water)   enough  for  us. 

Heb.  n^T  n^T  daloh  dalah,  drawing 
drew.  The  word  '  enough'  is  inserted 
in  our  translation  in  order  to  bring  the 
expression  somewhat  nearer  to  the  eni 
phasis  of  the  original. 

20.  UHiy  is  it  that  ye  have  left  the 
man  1  It  is  not,  we  presume,  to  be  con- 
strued as  a  breach  of  propriety  on  the 
part  of  the  daughters,  that  they  did  not 
invite  Moses  home  to  their  father's 
house.  It  would  have  had  a  very 
questionable  air  had  they  introduced  a 
stranger  into  the  patenial  mansion  with- 
out any  previous  notice- to  its  proper 
head.  On  the  contrary,  they  demean 
themselves  with  all  the  decorous  re- 
serv^e  appropriate  to  their  sex.  It  does 
not  appear  even  that  they  solicited  pro- 
tection, but  modestly  received  it ;  and 
when  rendered  they  rather  looked  their 
tlianks  than  uttered  them.  This  was 
sufficient,  for  no  noble  or  sensible  mind, 
like  that  of  Moses,  would  be  in  danger 


B.  C.  1531.]  CHAPTER  II. 

21  And  Moses  was  content  to 
dwell  with  the  man  :  and  he 
gave  Moses  *Zipporali  his  daugh- 


35 


L-h.  4.  25.  &  IS.  2. 


of  interpreting  the  instincts  of  maidenly 
reserve  into  an  ungrateful  return  for 
generous  services.  But  what  tliey  failed 
to  say  to  Moses  himself  they  no  doubt 
said  for  him  to  their  father,  and  were 
happy  to  be  able,  under  his  sanction,  to 
express  their  thanks  by  ministering  all 
in  their  power  to  his  comfort  as  a  guest. 

IT  That  he  may  eat  bread.    That  is, 

partake  of  an  entertainment.  See  Note 
on  Gen.  21.14. 

21.  Moses  was  content  to  dwell  icith 
the  man.  Heb.  Ji^T^  yoel,  was  willing ; 
or  perhaps  more  slrictly,  prevailed  wpon 
himself,  adopted  the  resolution.  The 
word  t)ccurs  in  the  following  passages  ; 
Gen.  18.  27, '  Behold  now  I  have  taken 
upon  me  to  speak  mito  the  Lord  j'  i.  e. 
have  persuaded  myself.  Josh.  7.  7, 
'  Would  to  God  xre  had  been  content^ 
and  dwelt  on  the  other  side  Jordan  ;' 
i.e.  had  prevailed  upon  ourselves.  Judg. 
19.  6,  '  Be  content,  I  pray  thee,  and 
tarry  all  night ;'  i.  e.  consent.  2  Sam. 
7.  29,  '  Therefore  now  let  it  please  thee 
to  bless  the  house  of  thy  servant  ;'  i.  e. 
be  thou  willing.  With  characteristic 
brevity,  Moses  says  nothing  of  the  ])rc- 
vious  proposition  and  negotiation  which 
led  to  this  arrangement,  but  the  simple 
fact  of  the  compact  to  remain  is  alone 
mentioned.  The  nature  of  the  services 
he  was  to  perform  is  not  here  specified, 
as  it  was  in  the  case  of  Jacob  in  similar 
circumstances,  but  we  learn  from  the 
opening  of  the  ensuing  chapter,  what 
might  be  inferred  from  the  manners  and 
habits  of  those  pastoral  tribes,  that  the 
humble  occupation  of  a  shepherd  was 
that  in  which  the  illustrious  e.xile  now 
consented  to  engage.  Being  thus  brought 
into  daily  intimacy  with  kindred  minds, 
it  was  natural  that  his  intercourse  with 
Jethro's  family  should  result,  as  it  did, 


22  And  she  bare  hi.n  a  son,  and 
he  called  his  name  ^  Gershom  ;  for 
he  said,  I  have  been  "  a  stranger  in 
a  strange  land. 

t  ch.  18.  3,     u  Acts".  29.  Ilebr.  11.  13,  14. 

in  a  union  with  one  of  the  daughters. 

IT   He    gave   Moses   Zipporah   his 

daugliter  J  to  whom  reference  is  made 
Numb.  12.  1,  '  And  Miriam  and  Aaroa 
.spake  against  Moses  because  of  the 
Ethiopian  woman  whom  he  liad  mar- 
ried ;  for  he  had  married  an  Ethiopian.' 
The  original  has  '  Cushite'  instead  of 
'  Ethiopian,'  not,  probably,  because  her 
family  w^as  descended  from  Cush,  or 
that  she  had  the  features  and  com. 
plexion  of  the  modern  Ethiopian  race, 
but  simply  from  the  fact  that  they  in- 
habited a  country  to  which  the  name 
of  Cush  or  EtWopia  was  applied.  See 
Pict.  Bib.  p.  137. 

22.  He  called  his  name  Gershom,  &c. 
Heb.  'D^Z^")^  gcreshom,  which  appears  to 
be  a  compound  made  up  of  "13  gcVj 
stranger,  and  ti'lj  sham,  there.  Others 
take  the  final  syllable  Q'l;  to  be  an  ad- 
jective derived  from  the  root  tif2'22  sha- 
mam,  to  be  desolate,  implying  a  lonely 
or  desolate  stranger.  The  import  how- 
ever of  this  member  of  the  word  is  of 
little  consequence,  as  its  main  signifi- 
cancy  is  concentrated  in  that  oi stranger 
conveyed  by  the  other.  The  Gr.  versioa 
here  adds :  ^  And  she  conceived  again 
and  bare  a  second  son  ;  and  he  called  his 
name  Eliezer,  saying.  For  the  God  of 
,  my  father  is  my  helper,  and  hath  de- 
livered me  from  the  hand  of  Pharaoh.' 
This  addition,  which  is  transferred  also 
into  the  Vulg.,  was  borrowed  from  Ex. 
IS.  4,  where  nearly  the  same  words  oc- 
cur. The  birth  of  a  second  son  is  also 
expressly  mentioned  in  this  connexion 
by  Stephen,  Acts,  7.  29,  <  Then  fled 
Moses  at  this  saying,  and  was  a  stranger 
in  the  land  of  Midian,  where  he  begat 
two  sons.''  At  what  period  of  Moses' 
forty  years  sojourning  in  Midian  his 
marriage  with   Zijiporah,  or  the  birth 


36 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  ]531. 


23  H  Aiul   it  came   to  pass,  Mn  ' 
process  i>f  time,  tlr.U  the  king  of  | 
Eg\\n  died  :  aiul  the  cliildreii  of  j 
Israel   >  sii,'hed    by  reason  of  the 
bondage,  and  they  cried;  and  » their 

xch.  7.  7.  Acts  7.  30.  y  Numb.  20.  16. 
Deut.  2t>  7.  I's.  12  f).  ^  Oen.  IW.  20.  ch.  3- 
9.  &  22  23,  27.     Deul.  24.  13.     Jarnes  5  4. 

of  his  chiUlron  took  place,  we  have  no 
means  of  ascertaining.  From  the  inci- 
dent mentionod,  Ex.  4.  24,  2.'),  it  has 
generally  boon  supposed  that  the  chil- 
dren were  then  young,  as  one  of  them 
was  circumcised  on  that  occasion  by 
his  mother.  But  it  strikes  us  as  ex- 
tremely im])robabre  that  Moses  should 
liave  deferred  his  marriage  for  near  forty 
years  aCler  entering  Midian,  or  that  be- 
ing married  shortly  after  that  time,  so 
long  an  interval  should  have  elapsed 
before  he  became  a  father.  It  is  to  be 
remembered  that  he  was  at  the  time 
mentioned,  ch.  4.  24,  25,  on  the  way 
to  Kgypt,  and  is  it  conceivable  that 
he  was  then  the  father  of  two  small 
children  ?  True  indeed  it  is  said,  Ex. 
4.  20,  '  that  he  took  his  wife  and  his 
sons  and  set  them  upon  an  ass,  and  re- 
turned to  Egypt,'  from  which  it  is  ar- 
gued that  the  sons  must  have  been  mere 
children,  or  they  could  not  have  been 
carried,  with  their  mother,  on  a  single 
ass.  But  this  objection  will  be  obviated 
in  our  note  on  that  passage,  and  as  the 
advanced  age  of  the  eldest  son  at  this 
lime  is  an  important  item  in  our  inter- 
pretation of  the  context  in  question,  we 
are  forced  for  the  present  to  hiy  great 
stress  on  the  intrinsic  probability  that 
Moses  was  both  married  and  begat  one 
at  least  of  his  two  sons  very  early  during 
his  residence  in  Midian. 

23.  It  came  to  pn.i.s  in  process  of  time. 
Ileb.  tnn  l"*!*!"  f?3'^Z  ba-yainim  ha- 
rabbim  hahcm,  in  those  many  days.    Gr. 

after  those  many  days.  On  this  phrase- 
ology Ainsworth  remarks  that  the  Heb. 
n  in  is  here  rightly  translated  by  the 


cry  came  up  unto  God,  by  reason 
of  the  bondage. 

24  And  God  a  heard  their  groan- 
ing", and  God  t  remembered  his 
c  covenant  with  Abraham,  with 
Isaac,  and  with  Jacob. 

ach.  6.  5.  bch.  6.  5.  Ps.  105.  8,  42.  &  IDS 
45.     c  Gen.  15.  14.  &  46.  4. 


Gr.  //frri,  after,  as  is  clear  from  Num.28. 
26, '  After  your  weeks  (tS'^riS^^Il'D  in 
your  weeks).,'  and  elsewhere.  So  in  the 
New  Testament,  Mark,  13. 24, '  In  those 
days'  is  parallelled  by  Mat.  24.  29,  '  A  f- 
ter  the  tribulation  of  those  days.'  But 
it  is  perhaps  sufficient  to  understand  by 
the  phrase  simply  that  in  the  course 
and  tou-ards  the  latter  part  of  the  forty 
years  of  Moses'  sojourn  in  Midian  the 
king  of  Egypt  died.  As  to  the  precise 
date  of  the  event,  it  was  not  important 

that  we_  should  be  informed  of  it. 

IT  Sighed  by  reason  of  the  bondage. 
The  time  was  now  fast  approaching  in 
which  the  Most  High  had  proposed  to 
visit  and  redeem  his  people,  and  still 
no  symptoms  of  favor  as  yet  are  per- 
ceived. On  the  contrary,  though  Egypt 
had  changed  its  sovereign  in  the  mean 
time,  yet  the  seed  of  Jacob  experienced 
no  mitigation  of  their  distress.  Every 
change  which  they  had  undergone  was 
rather  a  change  from  evil  to  worse,  till 
at  length  their  calamities  are  repre- 
sented, like  the  blood  of  murdered  Abel, 
as  having  a  voice  and  crying  to  heaven 
for  vengeance. 

24.  God  remembered  his  covenant,  &c. 
There  is  a  ^  pitch  of  oppression  which 
will  not  fail  to  awaken  the  wrath  of 
heaven.  The  groans  and  tears  extorted 
by  violent  wrong,  especially  if  they 
come  from  humbled  and  penitent  hearts, 
will  pierce  the  ear  of  God,  and  prove  a 
presage  of  deliverance.  '  Cum  latera 
duplicantur  Moses  adest,'  u-hen  the 
bricks  are  doubled,  Moses  is  at  hand. 
Yet  it  seems  that  in  the  present  case  it 
was  not  solely  from  a  regard  to  their 
miseries  that  God  determined  to  inter- 


B.  C.  1531.] 


CHAPTER  n 


25  And  God  d  looked  upon  the 


dch.  4.  31.     1  Sail 
Luke  1.  23. 


1.   11.    2  Sam.  16.  12. 


fere.  His  owu  faithfulness  was  at 
stake.  He  remembered  his  covenant, 
and  his  covenant  is  his  engagement. 
To  the  three  jiatriarchs  here  mentioned 
he  had  solemnly  bound  himself  to  en- 
large, to  prosper,  and  to  bless  their 
seed,  and  after  the  lapse  of  a  certain 
period  to  bring  them  out  of  bondage 
and  plant  them  in  the  land  of  promise. 
As  this  period  had  now  nearly  expired, 
and  the  enemies  of  Israel  by  making 
their  condition  to  the  utmost  degree  in- 
tolerable were  doing  v.diat  in  them  lay 
to  crush  and  exterminate  the  race,  and 
thus  counteract  the  fulfilment  of  the 
divine  promises,  the  God  of  Abraham, 
of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob  saw  that  it  was 
time  to  awake,  and  make  bare  his  arm, 
lest  iiis  word  should  fail  for  evermore. 
What  is  meant  by  God's  '  remember- 
ing' his  covenant  we  have  explained  in 
the  Note  on  Gen.  8.  1.  It  is  an  effective 
remembrance  evinced  'by  the  perform- 
ance of  some  special  act  of  his  care. 
We  may  understand  it  the  better  by 
conceiving  of  its  opposite.  God  is  said 
to  forget  or  not  to  remember,  when  he 
fails  to  assist  or  deliver.  And  in  like 
manner  his  looking  upon  a  people  is 
the  opposite  of  turning  his  back  upon 
them,  and  the  term  for  one  of  the  most 
fearful  forms  of  the  divine  judgments. 

25.  God  had  respect  unto  them.  Heb. 
35 T^  yeda,  ^•7^ew;lhem.  That  is,  compas- 
sionately regarded  them,  tenderly  cared 
for  them.  On  the  peculiar  import  of 
the  word  '  know,'  see  Note  on  Ex.  1.  8. 

Remarks. — (1.)  The  doctrine  of  a 
special  overruling  providence  is  no 
where  more  impressively  taught  than 
in  the  early  history  of  Moses  ;  and  in 
contrasting  the  perils  which  siuTounded 
his  infancy  with  the  security  and  com- 
fort v/ith  which  we  can  rear  our  outi 
offspring,  we  have  abundant  grounds  of 

Vol.  I  4 


children  ^l  Ifeiael,  and  God  chad 
re-r»prt  unto  them. 


gratitude.  Yet  it  should  not  be  for- 
gotten that  whatever  care  we  may 
exercise  for  our  little  ones,  or  what- 
ever guardianship  we  may  afford  them, 
they  as  really  reqiare  the  preserving 
mercy  of  heaven  when  reposing  in  their 
cradles  or  sporting  in  our  parlors,  as  did 
Moses  when  enclosed  in  his  ark  of  bul- 
rushes and  exposed  to  the  waves  or 
the  ravenous  tenants  of  the  Nile. 

(2.)  It  is  doing  no  violence  to  the 
spirit  of  the  sacred  text  to  conceive  of 
our  heavenly  Father  as  saying  to  the  be- 
liever when  presenting  his  infant-off- 
spring in  baptism,  '  Take  this  child 
away  and  nurse  it  for  me,  and  I  will 
give  thee  thy  wages.'  Take  him  out 
of  the  pollution  that  is  in  the  world 
through  sin,  and  bring  him  up  in  the  nur- 
ture and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  Take 
him  from  the  many  perils  which  beset 
liini  by  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  the  pride  of 
life,  and  Ihe  malice  of  Satan,  and  estab- 
lish  him  in  faith,  hope,  and  love,  as  a 
devoted  seiwant  of  the  Savior,  and  verily 
thou  shalt  by  no  means  lose  thy  reward. 

(3.)  What  a  powerful  principle  is 
true  faith!  And  how  illustrious  the 
exhibition  of  it  in  the  choice  of  Moses  ! 
We  know  how  hardly  men  are  persuad- 
ed to  resign  a  little  wealth,  to  forego  a 
little  honor,  to  resign  l\\e  faintest  pros- 
pect of  rank  and  power.  Yet  Moses 
freely  gave  up  all  that  was  tempting  in 
this  respect,  as  a  noble  sacrifice  of  sense 
to  faith  !  Several  of  the  circumstances 
which  rendered  this  sacrifice  so  remark- 
able have  been  already  considered.  Con- 
sider in  addition,  that  there  were  other 
than  solfi.'-h  objections  to  be  overcome. 
Pharaoh's  daughter  had  strong  claims 
on  the  gratitude  of  Moses.  He  was  a 
poor  foundling,  rescued  from  the  peril 
of  a  watery  grave,  by  the  kindness  of 
his  benefactor  j  and  no  one  acquainted 


38 


EXODUS. 

and  Icndorncss  of 


[B.  C.  1531. 


•uilh  Ihc  syinpiilliy 
woman's  licurt  needs  to  be  told,  how 
strong  is  tlu-  uttacluuent  formed  for  a 
helpless  inlant  ilms  strangely  and  unex- 
pectedly thrown  upon  her  hands.  .A 
deep  and  atfeetionate  interest  would  in- 
evitably sjjring  up  in  her  bosom  towards 
her  orphan  charge,  an  interest  all  the 
deeper  and  stronger  from  having  no 
children  of  her  own.  Now  can  we  sup- 
pose that  Moses  when  he  had  attained 
to  years  of  reflection  and  was  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  events  of  his  history, 
could  have  been  insensible  to  what  he 
owed  to  his  preserver  ?  Would  it  not 
be  a  mighty  struggle  to  tear  himself 
away  from  one  who  had  been  a  mother 
to  him  from  his  infancy;  who  had 
watched  with  kind  solicitude  over  his 
advances  from  childhood  to  youth,  and 
from  youth  to  manhood  ;  whose  heart 
had  exulted  to  note  his  expanding  intel- 
lect as  he  grew  learned  in  all  the  wis- 
dom of  the  Egj'ptians,  and  to  see  him 
entitling  himself  by  his  intrinsic  merit 
to  the  station  to  which  he  had  been  for- 
tuitously raised?  Shall  he  then  sum- 
tion  up  an  iron  resolve,  sunder  the  ties 
that  bound  him  to  his  earliest  bene- 
factor, and  bid  her  adieu  for  ever  ? 
Shall  he  do  this  when  in  doing  it  he 
would  seem  to  be  resigning  the  only 
hope  of  aiding  and  of  finally  emanci- 
pating his  brethren  ?  For  if  he  would 
consent  to  be  called  the  son  of  his  pa- 
troness, retaining  his  place  in  the  court, 
and  watching  the  events  of  providence, 
some  opportunity  might  at  length  occur 
for  effecting  an  object  so  near  liis  heart. 
But  we  see  the  conviction  of  present 
duty  outweighing  every  other  considera- 
tion, and  triumphing  over  the  prompt- 
ings of  affection  and  the  dictates  of 
worldly  policy.  So  complete  is  the 
dominion  of  Faith  over  his  whole  soul 
that  he  resolves  to  take  the  momentous 
step,  though  assured  that  he  sliould 
thereby  j)lunge  into  affliction  and  incur 
reproach.  But  the  afflictions  anticipated 


were  the  '  alTliclions  of  the  people  of 
God,'  and  the  reproach  incurred  '  the 
reproach  of  Christ/  and  these  he  well 
knew  would  be  sanctified  to  any  one  who 
should  encounter  them  for  conscience 
sake. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Of  the  events  which  marked  the  his- 
tory of  Moses  during  the  forty  years  of 
his  residence  in  the  land  of  Midian.  the 
Scriptures  have  furnished  us  with  no 
detailed  account.  As  Moses  is  him- 
self the  historian  of  liis  own  life,  it  is 
reasonable  to  infer  from  his  silence  that 
the  period  was  not  distinguished  by  any 
occurrences  sufficiently  important  in 
his  view  to  deserve  a  record.  His  days 
probably  passed  quietly  away  in  the 
w'onted  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  shep- 
herd, and  the  shepherd  too  of  another 
man's  flock.  His  situation  was  no  doubt 
favorable  to  contemplation  and  commu- 
nion with  God.  He  could  scarcely  fail 
to  make  progress  in  that  divine  know- 
ledge which  would  do  more  to  qualify 
him  for  his  future  mission  than  all  the 
learning  he  had  acquired  in  Egypt. 
The  life  too  which  he  led  was  happily- 
adapted  to  work  within  him  that  hardi-. 
hood  of  constitution  and  character,  of 
which  he  would  afterwards  stand  so 
much  in  need,  and  of  which  the  sequel 
of  his  story  affords  us  so  many  striking 
instances.  Still,  it  could  not  but  be  a 
severe  trial  of  his  faith  to  find  year  after 
year  elapsing,  and  the  prime  and  vigor 
of  his  age  apparently  wearing  away, 
while  no  tokens  from  above  indicated 
that  the  great  work  of  his  vocation  was 
any  nearer  at  hand.  Yet  he  seems  meek^ 
ly  to  have  endured  as  seeing  Him  who  is 
invisible,  and  to  have  evinced  that  true 
wisdom  which  consists  in  waiting  for 
and  following  the  call  of  heaven,  in- 
stead of  running  before  it.  It  was  evi- 
dently no  part  of  his  design  to  hold  up 
for  admiration  his  own  example  of  sub- 
missive patience,  yet  the  Holy  Spirit  is 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  III. 


39 


CHAPTER  III. 
lY^W  Moses  kept  the  flock  of 
-i-^    Jethro  his  father-in-law,  ^the 
priest  of  Midian :  and  he  led  the 

a  cl).  2.  16. 


not  restrained  from  presenting  liis  con- 
duct in  such  a  light  as  will  suggest  the 
most  useful  lessons  to  all  succeeding 
ages, 

1.  Now  Moses  kej)t  thejlock  of  Jethro. 
Heb.  "p^i:  rii<  r!:^"l  rr^n  hayah  rock  efh 
tzon,  was  feeding  the  flock,  or  actiyig 
the  shepherd  towards.  See  Note  on 
Gen.  37.  2.  He  who  is  before,  Ex.  2. 
18,  called  Reuel,  is  here  denominated 
Jethro.  Our  reasons  for  thinking  them 
the  same  person  have  already  been 
given.  In  Num.  10.  29,  he  is  called 
Raguel,  and  is  expressly  said  to  have 
been  the  father  of  Hobab. — There  is  no 
doubt  a  ver3'-  marked  contrast  between 
Moses  in  the  court  of  Egypt,  making 
his  abode  in  a  palace,  and  surrounded 
with  all  the  splendors  of  royalty,  and 
Moses  a  humble  hireling  shepherd,  lead- 
ing his  flocks  over  the  rough  places  of 
the  desert,  sleeping  often  in  the  open 
air,  exposed  to  heat  and  to  cold,  to 
weariness  and  watchings,  and  living 
upon  the  coarsest  fare.  But  as  we  know 
that  he  had  voluntarily  and  deliberatel}'- 
made  the  exchange  of  one  condition  for 
the  other,  and  as  we  know  too  the  mo- 
tives by  which  he  had  been  governed  in 
domgit,  it  would  be  no  matter  of  sur- 
prise could  we  be  assured,  as  was  doubt- 
less the  fact,  that  he  was  as  truly  happy 
while  thus  traversing  the  rocky  region 
of  Midian,  his  tent  his  only  shelter,  as 
when  treading  the  marble  pavements  of 
Egyptian  halls,  or  reposing  on  couclies 
of  state,  with  a  crowd  of  menials  prompt 
to  do  his  pleasure.  As  it  was  from  a  su- 
preme regard  to  the  glory  of  God  that  he 
had  entered  this  humble  sphere,  so  God 
was  not  unuiindful  of  the  sacrifices  he 
had  made,  nor  did  he  leave  liim  without 
witness  of  his  special  favor.     Desert 


flock  to  the  back  side  of  the  desert, 
and  came  to  b  the  mountain  of  God, 
even  to  Horeb. 

bch.  18.  5.     1  Kinj^s  19.  8. 


and  lonely  places  have  often  been  those 
which  God  has  selected  for  the  most 
signal  displays  of  hinaself  to  his  serv- 
ants ;  nor  is  it  superfluous  to  remark, 
that  such  manifestations  are  usually 
made,  as  here,  not  to  the  idle  or  sloth- 
ful, but  to  those  who  are  busied  in  the 

duties  of  their  calling. IT  He  led  the 

flock  to  the  back  side  of  the  desert,  &c 
Gr.  v-o  Tov  tpniMv,  under  the  wilderness. 
Vulg. '  Ad  interiora  deserti,'  to  the  inte- 
rior parts  of  the  desert.  Chal. '  To  the 
place  of  fair  pasturage  in  the  desert.' 
The  expression  is  probably  equivalent 

to    a  great  way   into  the   desert. 

IT  Came  to  the  mountain  of  God,  so  call- 
ed, not  so  much  from  its  great  height, 
as  tall  cedars  are  called  cedars  of  God, 
&c.  (see  Note  on  Gen.  23.  6),  as  by  an- 
ticipation, from  several  very  remark- 
able events  having  afterward  occurred 
upon  this  memorable  mount  tending  to 
confer  upon  it  a  sacred  character.  It 
was  here  (1.)  that  God  appeared  to 
Moses  in  the  bush;  (2.)  that  he  mani- 
fested his  glory  at  the  delivery  of  the 
law ;  (3.)  that  Moses  with  his  rod 
brought  water  out  of  the  rock  ;  (4.)  that 
by  lifting  up  his  hands  he  made  Joshua 
to  prevail  against  Amclek ;  (5.)  that 
he  fasted  twice  forty  days  and  forty 
nights  ;  (6.)  that  irom  hence  he  brought 
the  two  tables  of  the  law  ;  and  (7.)  that 
Elijah  was  vouchsafed  a  glorious  vision. 
The  Chal.  renders  it,  '  the  moimt  where 
the  Glory  of  the  Lord  was  revealed.' 

IT  Even  to  Horeb.    Heb.  in^H  horeh, 

i.  e.  dryness,  from  the  character  of  the 
soil ;  it  being  a  dry,  sterile,  bleak,  rocky 
region.  The  names  '  Horeb'  and  '  Sinai' 
are  interchanged  in  the  Scriptures  :  and 
modern  travellers  give  such  varied  ac- 
counts of  tliem,  that  we  are  left  in  great 
uncertainty  with  regard  to  their  original 


40 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


2  And  «"  tin'  Auircl  vf  the  Lord 
appeared  uiilo  him  in  a  llaine  of 
lire  out  of  the  iiiidsl  of  a  huth ; 

c  Ueul.  33.  10.     Isai  (13.  i>.     Acts  7.  30. 


position.  They  may  be  considered  as 
parts  of  one  vast  eminence  in  the  midst 
of  the  surrounding  desert,  the  upper  re- 
gion of  which  forms  an  irregular  circle 
of  tliirty  or  forty  miles  in  diameter. 
This  region  contains  the  higliest  moun- 
tains of  tlie  peninsula,  whose  shagged 
and  pointed  p<^aks,  and  steep  and  shat- 
tered sides,  render  it  clearly  distin- 
guishable from  all  the  rest  of  the  coun- 
try in  view.  Abrupt  clifls  of  granite, 
from  six  to  eight  hundred  feet  in  height, 
whose  surface  is  blackened  by  the  sun, 
surroimd  the  avenues  leading  to  the 
elevated  region,  to  which  the  name  of 
Sinai,  at  the  present  day,  is  specifically 
applied.  The  cliffs  enclose  the  moun- 
tain on  three  sides,  leaving  the  east  and 
north-east  sides  only,  towards  the  gulf 
of  Akaba,  more  opon  to  tlie  view.  Fur- 
ther information  re.'^pecting  this  remark- 
able mountainous  tract  will  be  given  in 
tracing  the  course  of  the  children  of 
Israel  in  their  march  from  Egj^jt  to 
Canaan. 

2.  The  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared 
unto  him,  &c.  Of  tlie  scriptural  import 
of  the  word  '  angel'  we  have  given  a 
somewhat  extended  view  in  the  Note 
00  Gen.  16.  7,  with  which  compare  Note 
on  Gen.  21.  7.  It  is  properly  a  term  of 
ojjlce,  and  not  oi  nature,  and  is  used  to 
denote  not  only  human  and  spiritual 
messengers,  but  also  any  of  the  imper- 
sonal agents,  such  as  winds,  fires,  pesti- 
lences, remarkable  dispensations,  &c., 
which  serve  as  a  medium  to  make 
known  the  divine  ^iH,  or  to  illustrate 
the  divine  operation  in  nature  or  provi- 
dence. In  fact,  one  of  the  most  frequent 
uses  of  the  term  is  as  a  personification 
of  divine  jtid!::inents.  Thus  2  Kings, 
19.  3.'},  '  And  it  came  to  pass  that  the 
Angel  of  the  Lord  went  out  and  smote 
in  the  cainp  of  the  Assyrians  an  hundred 


and  he  looked,  and  behold,  the 
bush  burned  with  fire,  and  llie 
bush  was  not  con.sumed. 


four  score  and  five  thousand.'  The 
elTcct  here  described  is  very  generally 
conceded  to  have  been  produced  by  a 
pestilential  wind  of  tlie  desert,  which 
is  personified,  and  termed  an  angel.  So 
the  pestilence  which  occurred  in  conse- 
quence of  David's  numbering  the  people, 
2  Sam.  24.  15,  16,  in  like  manner  repre- 
sented as  the  work  of  an  angel.  The 
destruction  of  the  first-born  in  Egypt, 
Ex.  12.  23,  29,  is  doubtless  to  be  viewed 
in  the  same  light.  Though  cut  off  by 
the  direct  supernatural  judgment  ot 
the  ]Most  nigh,  yet  the  agency  is  per- 
sonified and  represented  as  a  destroying 
angel.  The  language  of  the  Psalmist, 
Ps.  78.  49,  undoubtedly  requires  the 
same  construction  ;  *  He  cast  upon  them 
the  fierceness  of  his  anger,  wrath  and 
indignation  and  trouble  hy  sending  evil 
angels  among  them  ;'  i.  e.  the  judgments 
of  the  plagues.  In  the  New  Testament 
the  same  mode  of  speech  occurs.  Acts, 
12.  23, '  And  immediately  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  smote  him,  because  he  gave 
not  God  the  glory,  and  he  was  eaten  of 
worms,  and  gave  up  the  ghost.'  Here  the 
judgment  itself,  the  fatal  disease  witt 
which  Herod  died,  was  the  angel  intend 
ed  in  the  text.  But  if  such  language 
was  used  in  reference  to  vindictive  judg- 
ments extraordinarily  inflicted,  there  is 
no  reason  to  doubt  that  merciful  visita 
tions,  or  in  fact  any  kind  of  rare,  iron- 
dcrful,  and  astounding  occurrences  that 
ha])pen  somewhat  out  of  the  ordinary 
course  of  providence,  should  be  set  forth 
in  a  similar  figurative  or  symbolical 
diction.  Thus  when  it  is  said,  Dan.  6.22, 
that  '  God  had  sent  his  Angel  and  shut 
the  lions'  mouths,  that  they  should  not 
hurt  Daniel,'  it  is  not  necessary  to  un- 
derstand the  literal  presence  of  an  angel, 
or  spiritual  being,  but  simply,  that  by 
the  special  interposition  or  influence  of 


B.  C.  1191.] 


CHAPTER  III. 


41 


the  Almighty,  the  ravenous  beasts  were 
restrained  from  acting  according  to  their 
instincts.     The  principle  on  which  this 
interpretation  rests  is  well  expressed 
by  Reland  (Dissert,  de  Samarit.  7.  §  7.), 
*  That  with  whatever  instrmnent  God 
unites  his  own  virtue,  so  as  to  animate 
it,  and  to  work  in,  with,  and  by  it,  that 
instrument  is  called  an  angelJ   Accord- 
ingly, even  a  dream,  a  vision,  a  voice 
from  heaven,  may  be  so  denominated. 
But  the  appellation  seems  to  be  in  a 
particular   manner  bestowed   upon  the 
theophanics,  or  special  divine  manifesta- 
tions of  which  we  so  frequently  read  in 
the  Old  Testament  as  made  to  the  patri- 
archs  and  prophets.     The  Shekinah,  or 
visible  material  symbol  of  glory,  is  un- 
doubtedly, in  repeated  instances,  called 
the  angel  of  the  Lord,  inasmuch  as  it 
was    the    medium   or  vehicle   through 
which  the  Divinity  was  pleased  to  re- 
veal himself   to   the   outward    senses. 
Thus  the  Shekinah  in  the  pillar  of  cloud 
and  fire  which  guided  the  march  of  the 
Israelites  is  called,  Ex.  14. 19,  the  angel 
of  the  Lord.     At  the  same  time,  in  all 
such  cases  an  intelligent  agent,  a  spirit- 
ual being,  or,  in  other  words,  Jehovah 
himself,  is  doubtless  to  be  considered 
as  really  but  invisibly  present  in  and 
associated  with    the   visible    emblem. 
Thus,  in  the  present  instance,  the  ap- 
pearance, the  preternatural  light  or  fire 
in  the  burning  bush,  we  suppose  to  be 
what  is  truly  and  primarily  meant  by 
the  angel  of  the  Lord ;  but  it  is  clear 
from  the  sequel  that  in  and  under  this 
outward  symbol  there  was  present  the 
divine  personage  who   styles  himself, 
V.  6,  '  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac, 
and  of  Jacob,'  and  who  is  also,  v.  7,  ex- 
pressly called  '  Jehovah'  (Lord).    This 
is  still  farther  manifest  from  Deut.  33. 
16,  where  Moses,  in  blessing  the  tribes 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  invokes  upon 
Joseph  '  the  good  will  of  liim  that  divelt 
in  the  bushJ     Still  farther  confirmation 
of  this  view  will  be  given  as  we  pro- 
ceed.  IT  In  aflame  of  fire  out  of  the 


I  midst  of  a  bush.     This   appeared  to 
]  Moses  a  natural  fire  burning  with  great 
I  vehemence  in  the  midst  of  Ihu  bush,  yet 
I  we  may  suppose  it  to  have  been  the 
supernatural  fiery  splendor  which  con- 
stituted the  Shekinah,    the  symbol  of 
;  the  divine  presence.    The  Hebrew  word 
for  '  bush,'  (properly  bramble  bush)  is 
;  ri20  sench,  and  from  the  '  bush'  here 
I  mentioned,  in  connexion  with  the  divine 
1  appearance,  the  Jewish  writers,  not  im- 
j)robably,  suppose  that  this  mountain 
and  desert  Avere  afterwards  called  by 
j  the  Israelites  '  Mount  Sinai,'  and  the 
j  '  wilderness  of  Sinai.'     Thus  in  Pirke 
Eliezer,  ch.  41,  '  From  the  beginning  of 
the  world  this  Mount  was  called  Horeb, 
and  when  God  appeared  unto  Moses  out 
of  the  midst  of  the  bramble-bush,  from 
the  name  of  the  bramble  (Seneh)  it  was 
called  Sinai.' — The  incident  which  so 
much  excited  the  wonder  of  Moses  is 
generally  supposed   to   halve   been  de- 
signed as  a  representation  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  Israelites  in  Egypt.    '  The 
burning  bush,'  says  Philo, '  was  a  sym- 
bol of  the  oppressed,  and  the  flaming 
fire  of  the  oppressors  ;  that  what  was 
burning  but  not  consumed,  did  portend 
that  these  who  were  afflicted  by  the 
violence  of  their  enemies   should  not 
perish  ;  and  that  the  attempts  of  their 
enemies  should  be  frustrated  ;  and  that 
the   present    troubles   of    the    afflicted 
should  have  a  good  issue.'     There  they 
were   oppressed    and    cruelly  treated, 
bound  down  with  bondage,  and  suffer- 
ing every  grievance  that  malice  could 
devise  and  power  effect    to  wear  out 
their  strength  and  diminish  their  num- 
bers.    They  were  in  a  furnace  of  fire, 
and  in  themselves   but   as  briars   and 
thorns  compared  with  those  that  kind- 
led it.    But  they  were  nevertheless  not 
destroyed  ;  nay,  they  were  still  flourish- 
ing ;  the  nation  continued  to  shoot  forth 
vigorous  branches,  and  a  numerous  ofi"- 
spring  surrounded  them  in  spite  of  their 
enemies.  And  whence  tliis  wonder,  this 
apparent  contradiction  to  the  common 


42 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


'A  And  Moses  said,  I  will  now  turn 
aside,  and  see  this  -iffrcat  sight, 
why  tiie  l)ush  is  not  burnt. 

4  And  when  the  Loud  saw  that 

.1  Ps    111.2.     Acts  7.  31. 


course  of  nature  ?  It  was  bccau.se  God 
wa.s  in  tlie  midst  of  them.  He,  the  im- 
perishable and  eternal  God,  who  now 
appeared  to  Moses  in  the  bush,  burning 
but  unburnt,  and  wlio  afterwards  walked 
witli  his  three  faitliful  servants  in  the 
burning  Jiory  furnace  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, was  continually  with  his  oppressed 
people,  and  therefore  they  were  not 
consumed.  But  farther,  it  will  be  no 
stretch  of  fancy  if  we  consider  the  ap- 
pearance of  tlie  bush  as  an  emblem  of 
the  present  condition  of  the  children  of 
Israel.  They  are  at  this  day  strangers 
in  foreign  lands.  They  have  been  in 
circumstances  which,  according  to  the 
common  operation  of  merely  human 
and  ])olitical  causes,  Avould  have  long 
ago  amalgamated  them  entirely  with 
other  nations,  and  made  them  vanish, 
as  a  people,  from  the  earth.  But  they 
are  at  this  day  a  distinct  and  separate 
people  ;  they  have  survived  the  lapse 
of  ages,  which  liave  swept  away  others 
far  more  numerous  and  powerful ;  they 
are  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth,  and  yet  their  national  character 
and  name  are  ])reserved,  and  even  their 
visages  declare  their  origin.  And  why  is 
this  burning  bush  of  the  house  of  Israel 
yet  unconsumed  ?  It  is  because  God  is 
with  them.  He  remembers  his  cove- 
nant with  their  fathers.  He  has  further 
mercy  in  store  for  them.  '  There  shall 
yet  come  out  of  Zif)n  the  Deliverer,  and 
shall  turn  away  ungodliness  from  Jacob.' 
They  shall  again  be  gralted  into  their 
own  olive-tree,  for  (iml  is  able  to  graft 
them  in  again,  and  his  gifts  and  call- 
ings are  without  repentance.  But  again, 
this  appearance  may  be  considered  as 
an  apt  eml)lem  of  the  condition  of  even 
the  spiritual  church  of  Christ.  Against 
himself  and  ilie  cause  of  his  gospel 


he  turned  aside  to  see,  God  called 
eunto  him  out  ol"  the  midst  of  the 
bush,  and  said,  Moses,  Moses  I  And 
he  said,  Here  am  I. 


e  Deut.  33.  16. 


did  '  the  kings  of  the  earth  set  them- 
selves, and  the  rulers  take  counsel  to- 
gether,' And  ever  since  have  the  world 
and  the  devil  been  striving  to  crush  his 
people,  and  to  root  out  the  memorial 
of  them  from  the  earth.  Often  have  his 
witnesses  prophesied  in  sackcloth,  and 
often  have  his  people  suffered  bonds 
and  imprisonment  and  death  for  theii 
religion.  Yet  it  remains,  and  is  still  } 
light  shining  in  a  dark  place.  This  it 
because  that  God  is  Avith  his  church 
God  is  in  the  midst  of  her,  and  there 
fore  she  is  not  moved.  '  When  thou 
passest  through  the  waters,  I  will  be 
with  thee  ;  and  through  the  rivers,  they 
shall  not  overflow  thee  ;  when  thou 
walkest  through  the  fire  thou  shalt  not 
be  burned  ;  neither  shall  the  flame  kin- 
dle upon  thee.'  She  is  built  upon  a 
rock  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  pre- 
vail against  her.  Her  great  head  has 
declared,  '  Lo  I  am  with  you  always 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.'  And 
herein  consists  the  stability,  perpetuity, 
and  increase  of  the  church. 

3.  Why  the  bush  is  not  consumed. 
Heb.  135^'^  l^b  lo  yibar,  is  not  eaten  up  ; 
i.  e.  burnt  up,  entirely  consumed,  for 
that  it  was  apparently  burning  we  are 
expressly  informed  in  v.  2.  A  fire  in 
the  Scriptures  is  frequently  said  to 
'  eat'  as  Lev.  6.  10,  '  And  take  up  the 
a.shes  which  the  fire  hath  consumed  ;' 
Heb.  '  hath  eaten,'  Ps.  50.  3,  '  Our  God 
shall  come  and  shall  not  keep  silence : 
a  fire  shall  devour  before  him,  and  it 
shall  be  very  tempestuous  round  about 
him.'  It  was  matter  of  astonishment 
to  Moses  that  this  was  not  the  efiect 
in  the  present  instance. 

4.  When  the  Lord  saw  that  he  turned 
aside  to  see,  he  called  unto  him,  &c. 
As  if  to  reward  the  religious  awe  and 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  III. 


43 


5  And   he   said,  Draw  not  nigh 
hither  :  f  put  off  thy  shoes  from  off 

fch.  19.  12.     Josli.  5.  15.     Acts  7.  33. 


dread,  and  the  sanctified  curiosity,  with 
which  his  spirit  was  touched.  The 
phraseology  shows  that  the  term  '  Lord' 
here  is  used  interchangeably  with  'An- 
gel,' carrying  with  it  the  idea  of  some- 
thing visible,  or  in  other  words  of  the 
Shekinah.  God  miglit  have  called  to 
him  without  any  such  tokens  of  rever- 
ence on  the  part  of  Moses,  but  he  does 
not  see  fit  to  make  his  communications 
to  heedless  minds.  '  The  desire  of 
Moses  to  be  taught,'  says  Calvin,  '  as 
indicated  by  his  drawing  near,  is  espe- 
cially worthy  of  note.  It  often  happens 
that  God  meets  us  in  vain  because  we 
perversely  spurn  so  great  a  grace.  Let 
us  learn  from  the  example  of  Moses,  as 
often  as  God,  by  any  sign,  invites  us  to 
himself,  sedulously  to  attend,  nor  stifle 
the  offered  light  by  our  sluggishness.' 
The  vouchsafemcnt  of  visions  of  this 
nature  was  never  intended  to  inspire  a 
fruitless  wonder  or  alarm  in  the  minds 
of  holy  men.  They  were  always  sub- 
servient to  some  great  moral  end,  and 
for  the  most  part  were  attended  with 
some  express  instructions  in  which  the 
beholder  was  deeply  concerned.  It  had 
now  been  a  long  time  since  any  such 
personal  intercourse  with  the  Deity  had 
been  enjoyed  by  any  of  the  chosen  peo- 
ple. No  instance  of  the  kind  is  recorded 
as  having  taken  place  since  God  was 
pleased  to  speak  to  Jacob  to  encourage 
him  to  go  down  into  Egypt ;  but  now 
after  a  lapse  of  two  hundred  years  God 
again  condescends  to  appear  and  to 
converse  with  Moses,  in  ord^r  to  en- 
courage him  to  go  back  to  the  same 
country  to  bring  his  people  out  of  it. 
We  are  ready  to  say  that  those  favored 
men  of  old  were  happy  in  being  per- 
mitted to  enjoy  such  immediate  inter- 
course with  God  ;  but  happier  are  we 
who  enjoy  the  full  revelation  of  the  pre- 


thy  feet ;  for  the  place  whereon 
thou  standest  is  holy  ground. 


cious  gospel.  Whatever  they  heard, 
they  heard  not  the  things  which  have 
come  to  our  ears.  Whatever  were  the 
promises  given  to  them,  Ave  are  in  pos- 
session of  better.  Whatever  the  cove- 
nant made  with  the  fathers,  a  better 
one  has  been  established  with  us  their 
spiritual  descendants.  Whatever  the  en- 
couragement granted  to  them,  we  have 
still  greater  afforded  to  us  in  every  part 
of  the  work  which  we  have  to  do,  in 
every  trial  and  danger  to  which  we  may 
be  exposed.  Let  us  then  hear  the  voice 
of  God  speaking  to  us  in  the  gospel, 
where  no  phenomenon  of  fire  intimi- 
dates our  spirits.  Let  us  hearken  in 
faith  to  all  its  declarations,  and  yield 
implicit  obedience  to  all  its  commands. 
IT  Here  am  I.  A  common  expres- 
sion indicative  of  readiness  to  hearken 
or  obey.     See  Note  on  Gen.  22.  1. 

5.  Draw  not  7iigh  hither.  That  is, 
approac?!  not  any  nearer  than  thou  art. 
The  scrutiny  of  mere  curiosity  was  re- 
pelled ;  an  undue  familiarity  was  not 
permitted  ;  a  deep  and  awful  reverence 
was  enjoined.  He  was  forbidden  to  ap- 
proach too  nigh  unto  God.  The  deepest 
awe  which  can  possibly  fill  the  soul  is 
called  for  when  a  worm  of  the  dust  is 
admitted  to  stand  within  the  precincts 
of  the  divine  presence.  We  are  indeed 
favored  to  live  under  a  milder  dispen- 
sation than  was  Moses,  one  under  which 
we  are  not  only  bidden  '  to  draw  nigh 
unto  God,'  but  assured  that  '  he  will 
draw  nigh  unto  us.'  We  do  not  now 
draw  nigh  unto  a  burning  bush  or  a 
flaming  mount,  but  to  a  mercy  seat 
to  which  we  are  commanded  to  come 
with  filial  boldness  to  obtain  all  needed 
grace.  Yet  even  here  there  is  nothing 
to  warrant  an  unhallowed  familiarity, 
nothing  to  abate  the  most  profound  rev- 
erence and  godly  fear  when  we  enter 


44 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  149L 


into  the  audience-chamber  nf  the  King 

of  kings. ir  Put  off  thy  shoes  from 

off  thy  feet.  Hy  shoe  here  is  meant  the 
leathern  or  wooden  sole  attached  to  the 
bottom  of  tl>e  foot  by  '  shoe-latchets' 
passing  round  tlic  instep  and  ancle. 
See  Note  on  Gen.  IS.  4.  Jerus.  Targ. 
"|i";:D  sandclnk,  thy  sandal.  '  The 
reverence  indicated  by  putting  off  the 
covering  of  the  feet  is  still  prevalent  in 
the  East.  The  Orientals  throw  off  their 
slippers  on  all  those  occasions  when  we 
should  take  off  our  hats.  They  never 
uncover  their  heads,  any  more  than 
we  our  feel.  It  would  every  where, 
whether  among  Christians,  Moslems, 
or  Pagans,  be  considered  in  the  highest 
degree  irreverent  for  a  person  to  enter  a 
church,  a  temple,  or  a  mosque,  with  his 
feet  covered  ;  and  we  shall  observe  that 
the  priests  under  the  law  officiated  with 
bare  feet.  And  not  only  is  this  form 
of  showing  respect  exhibited  in  reli- 
gious observances,  but  in  the  common 
intercourse  of  life.  Few  things  inspire 
an  Oriental  with  deeper  disgust,  than 
for  a  person  to  enter  his  room  with 
shoes  or  boots  on,  regarding  such  con- 
duct both  as  an  insult  to  himself  and 
a  pollution  to  his  apartment.  These 
usages  influence  the  costume  of  the 
head  and  feet.  The  former,  being  never 
imcovered,  is  in  general  shaven,  and  the 
head-dress  generally  is  such  that  it  could 
not  be  replaced  without  some  degree  of 
trouble  ;  while  for  the  feet  they  have 
loose  and  easy  slippers,  which  may  be 
thrown  off  and  resumed  with  the  least 
possible  degree  of  inconvenience.'  Pict. 

Bih. IT    The  place    whereon   thou 

standest  is  holy  c^round.  Heb.  ^l>2")^^ 
DHp  admath  kodesh,  ground  of  holi- 
ness;  i.  e.  sanctified  by  the  presence 
and  manifestation  of  the  Deity,  who 
makes  the  hoavens,the  earth,  the  sanc- 
tuary, or  whatever  place  it  be  in  which 
his  glory  is  revealed,  to  be  accounted 
'  Jioly,'  and  therefore  to  be  occu])ied 
with  devout  reverence  by  his  worship- 
pers.   Accordingly  the  mount  on  which 


Christ  was  transfigured,  2  Pet.  1,  18.  is 
called  the  '  holy  mount.'  A  *  holiness' 
of  this  kind,  founded  solely  upon  divine 
appointment,  and  not  upon  the  intrinsic 
nature  of  the  subject,  is  termed  '  rela- 
tive' in  contradistinction  from  '  posi- 
tive,' or  *  absolute,'  and  ceases  when 
the  occasion  creating  it  ceases.  The 
same  direction  was  afterwards  given  to 
Joshua,  the  successor  of  Moses,  on  a 
somewhat  similar  occasion,  Josh.  6.  15, 
'  Loose  thy  shoe  from  off  thy  foot,  for 
the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy.' 
That  is,  it  was  made  temporarily  holy 
by  the  divine  manifestation  there  wit- 
nessed. We  are  not  indeed  in  the 
Scriptures  taught  the  intrinsic  holiness 
of  places,  but  there  is  no  doubt  tliat  the 
spirit  of  this  command  enjoins  upon  us 
a  peculiar  awe  and  reverence  of  feeling 
whenever  we  enter  a  house  of  worship, 
or  any  other  place,  where  God  is  con- 
sidered to  be  especially  present.  The 
impression  that  '  God  is  here'  ought 
CTer  to  have  a  solemnizing  effect  upon 
our  minds,  and  repress  every  thing  like 
carelessness,  listlessness,  or  levity. 
Had  we  a  proper  sense  of  the  divine 
majesty  resting  upon  our  spirits,  would 
it  be  possible  that  we  could  give  way  to 
that  profane  heedlessness  of  mind  which 
often  steals  upon  us  ?  Would  one  short 
hour's  attendance  betray  us  into  slum- 
ber ?  Would  a  crowd  of  worldly  or  sen- 
sual thoughts  intrude  into  our  minds  ? 
Could  the  eye  find  leisure  to  roam  over 
the  assembly  and  upon  the  dress  or  de- 
portment of  others  ?  Could  a  scornful 
or  simpering  countenance  by  significant 
smiles  communicate  its  contemptuous 
or  frivolous  emotions  to  another  ?  As- 
suredly not.  God  is  as  truly,  though 
not  as  visibly,  in  the  midst  of  his 
worshipping  assemblies,  as  he  was  in 
the  burning  bush  at  Horeb,  and  our 
most  appropriate  sentiments  on  such 
occasions  are  those  which  would  utter 
themselves  in  the  rev(irential  language 
of  Jacob  at  Bethel,  '  How  dreadful  is 
this  place  !' 


B.  C.  1191.  j 


CHAPTER  III. 


45 


6  Moreover  lie  said,  gl  am  the 
God  of  thy  father,  llie  God  of 
A,brahani,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob.     And  Moses  hid 

S  Gen.  28.  13.  ver.  15.  di.  4.  5.  Matt.  22.  32. 
Mark  12.  2().     Luke  20.  .37.     Acts  7.  32. 


6.  Moreover y  he  said,  lam  the  God  of 
thy  father.  That  is,  of  each  one  of  thy 
fathers,  even  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  &c. 
The  term  here  is  usually  understood  of 
Moses'  immediate  father,  Amram,  but 
it  is  with  more  probability  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  collective  singular,  equiva- 
lent to  '  fathers.'  Accordingly  it  is 
rendered  in  Stephen's  version  of  this 
event.  Acts  7,  32,  '  I  am  the  God  of  thy 
fathers.^  A  like  sense,  v,e  presume,  is 
to  be  given  to  the  expression,  Ex.  15.  2, 
'  He  is  my  God,  and  I  will  prepare  him 
an  habitation  ;  mj'-  fafher^s  God,  and  I 
will  exalt  him ;'  i.  e.  the  God  of  my  an- 
cestors in  general.  We  suppose  the 
true  import  of  the  passage  before  us 
would  be  better  expressed  by  the  render- 
ing ;  '  I  am  the  God  of  thy  fathers, 
(even)  the  God  of  Abraham,  &c.'  This 
is  obviously  confirmed  by  v.  15  of  this 
chapter.  While  the  Most  High  re- 
pressed presumption  in  Moses,  and  en- 
joined reverence,  he  encouraged  him  by 
reassuring  him  of  tliat  relation  into 
which  he  had  entered  with  the  nation 
of  Israel  in  the  persons  of  their  fathers. 
This  declaration  was  made  in  order  to 
assure  Moses  that  even  in  the  present 
oppressed  state  of  his  nation  in  Egypt, 
he  had  not  forgotten  them,  or  his  re- 
lation to  them  as  a  God  in  covenant. 
This  would  be  an  unspeakable  conso- 
lation to  Moses,  to  find  himself  ad- 
dressed by  that  God  of  whose  appear- 
ances and  promises  to  his  fathers  he 
had  often  heard,  and  to  know  that  his 
heart  was  as  kindly  aflccted  to  him  as 
it  ever  had  been  to  his  venerated  an- 
cestors. How  comforting  beyond  meas- 
ure to  the  Christian,  in  his  more  favored 
moments,  to  be  assured  that  the  God 
of  all  the  good  who  have  ever  lived  is 
his  God,  and  equally  pledged  by  his 


his  iaee ;  for  •>  he  was  afraid  to  look 
upon  God. 

7  II  And  the  Lord  said,  I  have 
surely  seen  the  affliction  of  my  peo- 

h  So  1  Kings  10.  13.  Isai.  6.  1,  5.  INeh.  9.  9. 
Ps.  100.  44.     Acts  7.  34. 

covenant  faithfulness,  to  show  to  him 
the  same  loving  kindness  that  he  show- 
ed to  them  ! IT  Moses  hid  his  face, 

for  he  u-as  afraid  to  look  upon  God.  Or 
rather  perhaps,  parentheticall}^,  accord- 
ing to  the  Hcb.  accents,  '  And  Moses 
hid  his  face  (because  he  was  afraid) 
from  looking  upon  God.'  A  more  literal 
rendering  of  the  last  v^■ords  (S'^n^xn  ^i^ 
c/  haelohim)  is  to  or  towards  God,  or 
towards  the  Elohim,  as  the  article  is 
prefixed,  which  is  not  the  common 
usage.  It  would  seem  that  the  term 
'  Elohim'  here  is  intended  to  signify 
simply  that  u'hich  uas  visible,  the  out- 
ward symbol  representing  the  essential 
Godhead, '  which  no  man  hath  seen  nor 
can  see.'  The  Chal.  has  correctly,  '  He 
feared  to  look  towards  the  Glory  of 
God ;'  i.  e.  towards  the  overpowering 
brightness  of  the  Shekinah,  in  which 
God  manifested  his  presence.  The 
effect  described  is  what  might  have 
been  anticipated.  A  consciously  sinful 
creature  may  well  fear  and  tremble 
when  God  comes  to  visit  him,  even 
though  on  a  purpose  of  mercy.  It  is 
ignorance  of  God,  not  intimate  com- 
munion with  liim,  that  begets  an  unhal- 
lowed familiarity.  The  angels,  who 
know  him  best  and  adore  liim  most  pro- 
foundly, are  most  sensible  of  the  infinite 
distance  between  him  and  them,  and  are 
therefore  represented  as  '  covering  their 
faces  with  their  wings'  when  standing 
in  his  awful  presence. 

7.  I  have  surely  seen  the  affliction, 
&c.  Heb.  "Ti'^i^'l  nX*!  raoh  raithi,  see- 
ing I  have  seen,  i.  e.  have  intently  con- 
sidered. Arab.  '  Have  regarded.'  Thus 
Ps.  106.  44,  '  Nevertheless  he  regarded 
their  aflliction  when  he  heard  their  cry.' 
Heb.  '  He  saw  (Stl'^l)  their  allliction.' 
IT  By  reason  of  their  task-masters. 


46 


EXODUS. 


[B.C.  149], 


plo  which  arc  in  Ei^ypt,  and  ihavc 
licard  their  cry  ''by  reason  of  tlieir 
taskmasters;  for  'I  know  their 
sorrows : 

•  ch.  2.  23,  21.     kch.  1.  11.     iGen.  18.21. 


Heb.  T^ra3  nogesauv^  his  task-masters  ; 
the  wliolo  j)coj)le  spoken  of  as  one  man, 
accoi(hn<;  to  common  usage.  The  orig- 
iniil  for  task-mnsters^  tliough  of  equiva- 
lent import,  is  not  the  same  word  with 
that  so  rendered,  ch.  1.  11,  but  properly 
signifies  exarteis,  translated  in  Job,  39. 
7,  driver,  and  in  Zech.  9.  S,  oppressor. 
Tlie  Gr.  has  E"yof\uKTat,  workmasters, 
and  the  Chal. '  Those  who  cause  them 

to  serve.' IT  /  know  their  sorroivs. 

Heb.  1*^-Ht;^  makobauv,  his  sorrows, 
collect,  sing,  as  before.  For  the  import 
of  know,'  see  Note  on  Ex.  1.  S.  Hos. 
13. ."),  presents  a  parallel  phraseology, 
<  I  did  knorc  thee  in  the  wilderness,  in 
the  land  of  great  drought ;'  i.  e.  I  com- 
passionately knew  thee  ;  I  knew  thee 
so  as  to  succor  thee. 

JS.  lam  come  down  to  deliver  them.  Heb. 
1^*^:rnb  IchatzHo,  to  deliver  him,  collect. 
sing.  In  strict  propriety  of  speech  nei- 
ther ascent  nor  descent  can  be  predicated 
of  the  Omni]iresent  Being,  but  in  adapt- 
ation to  our  modes  of  conceiving  of  the 
divine  acts,  God  is  said  to  '  come  down' 
when  he  puts  forth  in  the  sight  of  men 
such  striking  exhibitions  of  his  power, 
either  for  grace  or  judgment,  as  shall 
constitute  an  indubitable  token  of  his 
special  presence.  It  maybe  remarked, 
moreover,  that  whenever  the  Most  High 
is  said,  in  the  sacred  volume,  to  'de- 
scend,' some  signal  event  of  his  provi- 
dence is  uniformly  represented  as  fol- 
lowing. Thus,  when  he  is  said  to  have 
resolved  to  '  go  down'  and  see  the  sins 
of  Sodom,  the  fearful  overthrow  of  their 
city  quickly  ensued;  when  he  'came 
down'  to  thwart  the  building  of  Babel, 
the  confusion  of  tongues  followed,  as  it 
were,  upon  his  footsteps  ;  and  when,  in 
the  narrative  before  us,  he  announces 
his  purpose  of  descending  in  behalf  of 


8  And  >n  I  am  come  down  to  "  de- 
liver them  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
Egyptians,  and  to  bring  them  up 
out  of  that  land,  o  unto  a  good  lanfl, 

n.  Gen  11.  5,  7.  &  18.  21.  &  50.24.  "  ch.  6. 
6,  8.  &  12.  51.  "  Dent.  1.  25.  '&  8.  7,  6,  9. 


his  people,  their  miraculous  deliverance, 
with  deserved  vengeance  upon  Egypt, 

is  the  memorable  result. H  Unto  a 

good  land  and  a  large.  Not  indeed  a 
land  very  large  in  itself,  but  large  in 
comparison  with  their  territory  in  Go- 
shen, and  of  sufficient  extent  to  contain 
with  ease  all  the  population  of  that 
race  which  was  destined  to  inherit  it. 

IT  Unto  a  land  flowing  with  milk 

and  honey.  An  abundance  of  milk  and 
honey  indicates  a  country  rich  in  pas- 
turage and  flowers,  of  which  the  one  is 
evinced  by  the  teeming  udders  of  the 
flocks  and  herds,  and  the  other  by  large 
quantities  of  wild  or  cultivated  honey. 
That  this  description  held  literally  good 
of  the  land  of  promise,  there  is  the  most 
unquestionable  evidence,  not  only  from 
the  declarations  of  Scripture,  Deut.  8.  8. 
32.  13.  Judg.  14.  8.  1  Sam.  14.  25,  26. 
Ps.  81.  17,  but  even  from  what  we  know 
in  modern  times  of  the  soil,  climate, 
and  productions  of  Palestine.  But  if 
this  should  be  thought  too  rigid  an  in- 
terpretation of  the  words,  '  milk'  may 
be  understood  to  denote  all  kinds  of 
necessary  food,  and  '  honey,'  whatever 
is  peculiarly  agreeable  to  the  palate,  so 
that  this  expression,  so  often  applied 
to  the  land  of  Canaan,  may  be  simply 
intended  to  characterise  a  very  fruitful 
and  pleasant  country,  abounding  in  all 
the  products  necessarj^  to  the  subsist- 
ence of  life,  and  rich  in  the  dainties 
which  minister  to  the  gratification  of  the 
taste.  See  the  emphatic  commendation 
of  the  soil,  productions,  &c.  of  the 
promised  land,  Deut.  8.  7— 9.  The  same 
proverbial  expression  of  plenty  is  fa- 
miliar to  the  classic  writers.  Thus  Eu- 
ripides, Bac.  v.  142^  '  The  field  flows 
with  milk,  wdth  wme,  and  with  the 
nectar  of  bees.'    The  enemies  of  reve- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  III. 


47 


and  a  large,  unto  a  land  p  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey;  unto  the 
place  of  4  the  Canaanites,  and  the 
Hittitcs,  and  the  Amorites,  and  the 
Perrizzites,  and  the  Hivites,  and 
the  Jebusites. 

Pver.  IT.  ch  13.  5.  &  33.  3.  Numb.  13.  27. 
Deut.  26.  y,  15.  Jer.  11.  5.  <k  32.  22.  Ezek. 
20  6.     q  Gen.  15.  lb. 


latioii  have  drawn  arguments  irom  the 
present  neglected  state  of  some  parts  of 
Palestine,  to  invalidate  the  statements 
of  the  sacred  historians,  who  represent 
it  as  one  of  the  most  delightful  spots 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  In  this, 
however,  they  have  not  only  utterly 
failed,  but  by  drawing  the  attention  of 
modern  travellers  on  the  subject,  have 
unwittingly  contributed  towards  the  il- 
lustration and  confirmation  of  the  sacred 
records.  The  land  has,  indeed,  suffered 
under  the  blighting  dominion  of  the 
Saracens,  Turks,  and  Egyi)tians  ;  agri- 
culture has  been  neglected ;  and  an  air 
of  desolation  has  crept  over  its  once 
luxuriant  hills  and  dales,  but  the  traces 
of  its  original  fertility  and  beauty  are 
far  from  being  wholly  obliterated.  We 
may  infer,  from  the  following  passages 
from  the  pens  of  eminent  travellers, 
what  Palestine  was  in  a  state  of  pros- 
perity. '  We  left  the  road,'  says  D'Ar- 
vieux,  '  to  avoid  the  Arabs,  whom  it  is 
always  disagreeable  to  meet  with,  and 
reached  by  a  side  path  the  summit  of  a 
mountain,  where  we  found  a  beautiful 
plain.  It  must  be  confessed,  that  if  we 
could  live  secure  in  this  country,  it 
would  be  the  most  agreeable  residence 
in  the  world,  partly  on  account  of  the 
pleasing  diversity  of  mountains  and  val- 
leys, partly  on  account  of  the  salubrious 
air  which  we  breathe  there,  and  which 
is  at  all  times  filled  with  balsamic 
odors  from  the  wild  flowers  of  these 
valleys,  and  from  the  aromatic  herbs 
on  the  hills.'  Dr.  E.  D.  Clarke,  speak- 
mg  of  the  appearance  of  the  country 
between  Sychem  and  Jerusalem,  says, 
'  A  sight  of  this   territory  alone,   can 


9  Now  therefore,  behold,  rthe  cry 
of  the  chiUlren  of  Israel  is  come  un- 
to me  :  and  I  liave  also  seen  the 
s  oi)prcssion  wherewith  the  Egyp- 
tians oppress  them. 

10  t  Come  now  therefore,  and  I 
will  send  thee  unto  Pharaoh,  that 

rch.  2.  23.  sch.  1,  11,  13,  14  22.  t  Ps.  105. 
26.     Micah.  0.  4. 


convey  any  adequate  idea  of  its  s>ar- 
prising  produce :  it  is  truly  the  Eden  of 
the  East,  rejoicing  in  the  abundance  of 
its  wealth.  The  effect  of  this  upon 
the  people  was  strikingly  portrayed  in 
every  countenance.  Under  a  wise  and 
beneficent  government,  the  produce  of 
the  Holy  Land  would  exceed  all  calcu- 
lation. Its  perennial  harvests  ;  the  sa- 
lubrity of  its  air  ;  its  limpid  springs  ; 
its  rivers,  lakes,  and  matchless  plains  ; 
its  hills  and  valleys  ;  all  these,  added 
to  the  serenity  of  the  climate,  prove 
this  land  to  be  indeed  '  a  field  which 
the  Lord  hath  blessed  :  God  hath  given 
it  of  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  the  fatness 
of  the  earth,  and  plenty  of  corn  and 

wine." ^Canaanites,  Hittitcs,  AmoV' 

ites,  &c.  All  singular  in  the  original, 
Canaanite,  Hittite,  &c.,  and  so  in  in- 
numerable other  instances. 

9.  Now  therefore  behold  the  cry,  &c. 
The  Most  High  repeats  this  declaration 
from  V.  7,  in  order  to  give  stronger  as- 
surance to  Moses  that  he  will  be  with 
him  and  not  suffer  him  to  go  upon  a 
fruitless  embassy.  His  truth,  his  jus- 
tice, his  mercy  were  all  concerned  in 
the  liberation  of  his  people.  Such  cruel- 
ties as  they  had  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  the  Egyptians  would  have  awaked 
his  vindictive  providence  in  behalf  of 
any  people,  and  armed  it  against  their 
oppressors.  How  much  more  when  the 
sufierers  were  his  own  chosen  people, 
whom  he  had  taken  under  his  special 
covenant  care,  whom  he  had  sworn  to 
protect,  to  befriend,  to  bless. 

10.  Come  now  therefore,  &c.  Heb, 
ni^  nt'iS'l  ve-attah  lekah,  and  now  go. 
The  secret  impulse  under  which  Moses 


45 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


thou  mavcst  brinsr  forth  my  peo- 
ple, the  children  of  Israel,  out  of 


1  i  II  And  Moses  sa 


id  unto  God, 


had  formcrl)'  acted,  in  his  incipient  es- 
says towards  the  deliverance  of  liis 
peojile,  ch.  2.  11,  now  becomes  an  open 
call  anrl  a  full  commission  ;  and  he 
whom  the  Israelites,  Acts,  7.  35,  '  re- 
fused saying,  Who  made  thee  a  ruler 
and  a  judge  ?  the  same  did  God  send  to 
be  a  ruler  and  a  deliverer  by  the  hand 
of  ilie  angel  which  appeared  to  liim  in 
the  busli.'  The  divine  Sjieaker  here 
passes  from  promises  and  assurances  to 
commands.  Moses  is  now  required  to 
address  himself  to  the  work  which  God 
had  destined  him  to  perform.  He  dealt 
kindly  with  liis  servant  in  thus  strength- 
ening and  animating  him  with  these 
precious  hopes  of  success.  Nothing 
could  have  been  laid  to  his  charge  had 
he  waved  all  such  preliminary  encou- 
ragements, and  sternly  bid  him  go  for- 
ward without  any  intimations  as  to  the 
result  of  his  mission.  But  our  merciful 
God  deals  more  graciously  with  human 
infirmity.  He  excites  a  more  prompt  and 
clicerful  obedience  by  assuring  his  serv- 
ants of  a  li:ippy  issue  to  all  the  work 
in  wliich  tlioy  engage  for  him.  He  thus 
leaves  our  perverse  and  selfish  and  re- 
fractory hearts  utterly  without  excuse, 
if  we  decline  his  service. 

11.  And  Moses  said  unfo  God,  Who 
am  T,  &r.  Calling  to  mind  the  lively 
interest  which  Moses  had  formerly 
evinced  in  Itelialf  of  his  people,  and  the 
ready  zeal  with  wliich  he  had  entered 
upon  the  redress  of  their  wrongs,  we 
should  no  doubt  at  first  sup]iose  that 
his  inmost  heart  would  have  responded 
to  the  divine  call,  and  that  he  would 
have  discovered  an  almost  eager  jrompt- 
itudc  to  enter  upon  so  congenial  a  serv- 
ice. Hut  no  ;  he  is  aj-palled  by  the  ap- 
pointment. He  cannot  beli-ne  himself 
equal   l*,  it,   or  worthy  of  it.     Forty 


u  Who  am  I,  that  i  should  go  unto 
Pharaoh,  and  that  I  should  bring 
forth  the  children  of  Israel  out  of 
EgJTt? 

uSeerh.  6  12.     ISam.  18. 18.    Isai.6.  5.8. 
Jer.  1.  6. 


years  before,  in  the  ardor  of  compara- 
tive youth,  lie  had  made  such  an  at- 
tempt, and  failed.  He  slirinks  back 
therefore  from  it  now.  But  we  are  not 
to  suppose  that  it  was  altogether  from 
the  recollection  of  the  past  that  he  de- 
clined the  present  service.  He  was  in 
many  respects  a  different  man  now  from 
what  he  w-as  then.  He  had  long  been 
leading  a  retired,  quiet,  and  contem- 
plative life,  and  had  gained  a  deeper 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  himself.  He 
had  greater  experience  of  the  disposi- 
tions and  motives  of  men,  and  had 
grouTi  in  humility  and  a  diffidence  of 
his  owni  powers.  He  could  better  esti- 
mate the  magnitude  and  difficulty  of 
the  work.  He  could  better  understand 
the  weight  of  opposition  which  would 
arise  from  a  powerful  king  and  a  mighty 
nation ;  and  he  might  also  well  expect 
to  have  again  to  encounter  fear  or  un- 
willingness in  his  owTi  people.  Now 
also  he  would  feel  that  he  could  have 
no  protection  or  favor  from  Pharaoh's 
daughter,  and  obscure  as  he  was  in 
Midian,  he  looked  upon  himself  as  al- 
together insufficient  and  incompetent 
for  so  great  a.n  undertaking.  That  his 
backwardness  was  excusable  no  one 
will  affirm,  yet  it  is  probably  no  more 
than  justice  to  Moses  to  say,  that  his 
reply  did  not  flow  from  a  positive- 
ly disobedient  spirit,  like  that  which 
prompted  Jonah  to  flee  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord,  but  from  a  ])rofoundly 
humble  sense  of  his  own  unwortliiness 
and  incompetence  for  such  an  arduous 
trust.  From  a  similar  consciousness, 
Isaiah  shrunk  from  the  duty  to  which 
he  was  called  of  being  the  Lord's  mes- 
senger, sayiiTg,  '  I  am  a  man  of  unclean 
lips  ;'  and  Jeremiah  v,as  led  to  exclaim 
'  Ah,  Lord  God  !  behold  I  cannot  speala 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  Hi 


12  And  he  said,  ^  Certainly  I  will 
be  with  thee ;  and  this  shall  be  a 

X  Gen.  31.  3.  Devit.  31.  23.  Josh.  1.  5.  Rom. 
8.  31. 


for  I  am  a  child.'  Paul  also  was  actu- 
ated by  the  same  feeling  when  he  anx- 
iously enquired, '  Who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things?'  A  due  degree  of  distrust 
in  ourselves  is  no  doubt  always  proper, 
but  we  should  not  forget,  that  as  there 
is  a  sinful  pride  which  urges  men  to 
seek  stations  and  employments  to  which 
they  have  no  just  pretensions,  so  there 
is  a  sinful  humility  which  shrinks  from 
the  call  of  God,  and  which  under  the 
guise  of  self  denial,  or  the  affectation 
of  under-valuing  and  debasing  our  own 
persons  and  qualities,  indirectly  char- 
ges God  with  foolishness  in  choosing 
instruments  unsuited  to  his  work.  Let 
us  ever  aim  then  to  observe  a  happy 
medium  between  self-complacency  and 
self-disparagement.  As  it  is  God's  pre- 
rogative to  send  by  whom  he  will  send, 
so  he  will  never  fail  to  qualify  his  emis- 
saries for  the  errand  on  which  he  dis- 
patches them.  His  commission  is  suffi- 
cient to  empower  the  weakest  man  for 
the  most  arduous  service. 

12.  And  he  said,  Certainly  I  unit  be 
irith  thee.  Chal.  '  My  Word  shall  be 
for  thy  help.'  It  no  doubt  for  the  most 
part  holds  true,  that  those  who  are  in 
reality  the  best  fitted  for  the  peculiar 
work  of  God  are  usually  prone  to  esteem 
themselves  the  least  so  ;  yet  the  pro- 
mised presence  of  Jehovah  is  sufficient 
to  silence  every  plea  which  would  pre- 
vent the  hmnble-minded  from  going 
forward  in  any  prescribed  deliverance, 
reformation,  or  change  in  the  church  or 
the  world.  No  other  than  this  simple 
consideration  is  afforded  in  order  to  re- 
move the  misgivings  of  Moses.  It  was 
of  no  consequence  who  he  was,  or  what 
he  could  do,  as  long  as  Omnipotence 
led  the  way  before  him.  We  render  the 
highest  honor  to  God  when  relying  on 
liis  proffered  aid,  we  seek  no  groimd  of 

Vol.  I  5 


token  2M0  thee,  that  I  have  sent 
thee :  when  thou  hast  brought  forth 
tJie  people  out  of  Egypt,  ye  shall 
serve  God  upon  this  mountain. 


confidence  out  of  himself,  when  in  th5 
deep  sense  of  our  own  impotence  we 
count  it  enough  that  he  is  with  us  and 

for  us. IT  This  shall  be  a  token  unto 

thee  that  I  have  sent  thee.  Heb.  "1^  HT 
ri15<n  zeh  leka  haoth,  this  shall  be  to 
thee  a  sign.  These  words  are  under- 
stood by  most  of  the  Rabbinical  com- 
mentators to  refer  to  the  supernatural 
appearance  which  Moses  was  now  called 
to  witness  in  the  burning  bush.  Ac- 
cording to  this  mode  of  interpretation 
there  is  a  two-fold  assurance  conveyed 
to  him  in  the  two  several  clauses  of 
this  verse ;  first,  that  God  would  be 
with  him,  and  protect  him  in  his  em- 
bassy to  Pharaoh.  Of  this  fact  he 
might  regard  the  spectacle  before  him 
as  a  sign  or  token ;  for  as  he  saw  the 
burning  bush  subservient  to  the  divine 
pleasure  without  being  consumed,  so  he 
might  be  confident  of  being  enabled  to 
execute  tiie  commission  assigned  to 
him  without  personal  harm.  Secondly 
that  when  this  was  accomplished,  when 
he  had  delivered  his  message  to  Pha- 
raoh, and  brought  out  the  people  from 
Egypt,  then  both  he  and  all  the  host  of 
Israel  should  serve  God,  by  oblations 
of  sacrifice  and  praise,  upon  that  very 
mountain  where  he  now  stood.  The 
mass  of  modern  interpreters,  however, 
imderstand  the  tflken  hore  spoken  of, 
to  refer,  not  to  the  vision  of  the  divine 
glory  in  the  burning  bush,  but  to  the 
actual  future  result  of  the  mission  now 
devolved  upon  INIoses  :  the  sign  promised 
was  no  other  than  the  event  itself,  which 
was  predicted  ;  q.  d.  'Go  now  and  try, 
and  you  shall  find,  by  the  event,  that  I 
have  sent  you.'  Of  these  interpretation.* 
the  former  is  more  agreeable  to  the  lie 
brew  accents,  which  indicate  a  marko 
distinction  between  the  former  and  the 
latter  clauses  of  the  verse  :  and  it  seems 


50 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


13  And  Moses  said  unro  God,  Be- 
hold, ir/irn  I  coiiio  unto  tlio  children 
of  Israel,  and  shall  say  nnlo  them, 
The  (lod  of  your  lathers  hath  sent 
me  unto  you;  and  they  shall  say  to 

also  better  to  accord  with  our  ordinary 
concoj)tions  of  the  use  of  a  sign,  which 
is  undtTstood  to  be  something  addressed 
to  the  ouftrard  senses  rather  than  to  the 
faith  of  the  recijiient,  and  is  of  course 
naturally  regarded  ratlier  as  a  cause, 
help,  or  confirmation  of  faith,  than  its 
object.  The  latter  view  of  the  passage, 
however,  it  must  be  admitted,  is  strong- 
ly corroborated  by  Isaiah,  7. 14.  '  There- 
fore the  Lord  himself  shall  give  you  a 
sign ;  Behold  a  virgin  shall  conceive 
and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name 
Immanuel.'  Here  both  the  sign  and  the 
thing  promised  are  future.  But,  the 
point  is  one  which  after  all  we  must 
leave  undecided. 

13.  Behold,  ivhen  I  come,  &c.  The 
diffidence  of  JMoses  is  not  yet  overcome. 
Still  doubting  and  irresolute,  he  ven- 
tures to  urge  another  difficulty  in  the 
words  of  this  verse.  He  supposes  lliat 
his  own  people  will  rigidly  interrogate 
him  by  way  of  sifting  the  authority  un- 
der which  he  acts,  and  will  particularly 
require  of  him  an  account  of  the  nature, 
character,  and  attributes  of  the  Being 
whose  commission  he  bore.  This  is 
undoubtedly  the  true  sense  of  the  term 
name  in  tliis  connexion.  It  is  not  so 
nuich  the  common  title  by  which  he  was 
Icnown  that  they  would  wish  to  learn — 
for  it  is  suJtJ)n^ed  by  the  wording  of  the 
t«'xt  th.it  li.-  would  announce  him  as 
'  tlie  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of 
Jacob' — as  the  ncio  and  significant  de- 
nomination, which  he  might  be  expect- 
ed to  as.sume  on  tliis  occasion.  The 
j)eoj)le  were  well  aware  by  tradition 
that  whenever  (Jod  had  been  pleased  to 
honor  any  of  tlieir  ancestors  with  a  new 
re.velation,  it  was  liis  wont,  m  order  to 
give  it  greater  weight,  to  assume  a  new 
characteristic  denomination,  expressive 


me,  What  is  his  name  ?  what  shall 
I  say  unto  them? 

14  And  God  said  unto  Moses, 
I  AM  THAT  I  AM :  and  lie  said, 
Thus  shalt  thou  say  mito  the  chil- 

mainly  of  that  attribute  wliich  served 
as  a  security  for  the  fullilment  of  the 
promise.  Thus  when  he  apoeared  to 
Abraham,  Gen.  17. 1,  and  promised  him 
a  son  in  his  old  age,  he  announced  him- 
self as  El  Shaddai,  God  Almighty,  in- 
finitely able  to  accomplish  all  his  pur- 
poses. So  also  we  find  the  occasional 
titles  Most  High,  Ancient  of  Days,  Jah, 
&c.  In  like  manner,  Moses  took  it  for 
granted  that  on  an  occasion  so  moment- 
ous as  the  present,  they  would  expect 
the  announcement  of  some  new  and  ap- 
propriate name,  which  should  carry  in 
its  import  a  kind  of  pledge  for  the  per- 
formance of  all  that  he  was  pleased  to 
promise. 

14.  God  said  unto  Moses,  I  am  that  I 
am.  Hcb.  i-l^ni^  ^-J*  n'^ub^  ehyeh  asher 
ehyeh,  literally,  I  will  be  that  Twill  be. 
The  Gr.  resolves  it,  eyu)  ciju  o  ow,  I  am 
he  that  is,  or  the  Existing  One.  Arab. 
'  The  Eternal  who  passcth  not  away.' 
A  somewhat  similar  denomination  oc- 
curs, Rev.  1.  4,  where  John  invokes 
grace  and  peace  '  from  Him  wdiich  is 
and  which  was,  and  which  is  to  come,' 
which  is  supposed  to  be  a  paraphrase 
or  exposition  of  the  name  tllu'^  Yeho- 
vah,  a  word  derived  from  the  same  root 
rr^tl  hayah,  and  of  kindred  import  with 
the  phrase  before  us.  See  Note  on  Ex. 
6.  3.  The  title,  '  I  am  that  I  am,'  pro- 
perly denotes  the  underived,  eternal, 
and  unchangeable  existence  of  the  great 
Being  to  whom  it  is  applied,  carrying 
in  it  also  the  implication  that  He,  in  dis- 
tinction from  all  others,  is  the  one  only 
true  God,  the  God  who  really  is,  while 
all  the  pretended  deities  of  the  Egyp- 
tians and  other  nations  were  a  vanity, 
a  nonentity,  a  lie.  It  implies,  more- 
over, as  founded  upon  the  immutability 
of  the  Divine  nature,  the  certain  and 


B.  C.  1531.] 


CHAPTER  III. 


51 


drcn  of  Israel,  yl  AM  hath  sent 
me  unto  you. 

15  And  God  said  moreov^er  unto 
Moses,  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  The  Lokd 

y  ch.  6.  3.  John  S.  58.  2  Cor.  1.  20.  Hebr. 
13  8.     Rev.  1.  4. 

faithful  performance  of  every  promise 
wliich  he  had  uttered,  so  that  whatever 
he  had  bound  himself  by  covenant  to 
do  for  Abraliam,  for  Isaac,  and  for  Ja- 
cob, he  pledges  himself  by  the  annun- 
ciation of  this  august  title  to  make  the 
same  good  to  their  seed.  '  I  am  that 
(which)  I  will  be,  and  I  will  be  that 
(which)  I  am  ;  the  same  yesterday,  to- 
day, and  for  ever.'  We  see  then  the 
purport  of  the  passage.  '  If  they  shall 
ask,  what  is  he  ?  by  what  name  is  he 
known  ?  what  are  the  nature  and  attri- 
butes of  him  who,  as  thou  sayest,  has 
sent  thee  to  bring  us  out  of  Egypt  ?  tell 
them  that  thou  art  commissioned  by 
him  who  describes  his  own  nature  by 
saying  I  am  that  I  am  ;  I  am  the  eter- 
nal, self-existent,  and  immutable  Being  ; 
the  only  being  who  can  say,  that  he  al- 
ways will  be  what  he  always  has  been.' 

U  I    am  hath  sent  me   unto   you. 

Heb.  rr^nx  ehyeh,  IwUl  be;  a  proper 
future,  but  having  the  force  of  the  con- 
tinuous present.  The  first  person  of 
the  verb  of  existence  is  here  used  as  a 
noun  substantive,  and  made  the  nomi- 
native to  another  verb  in  the  third  per- 
son. Tliis  is  indeed  a  striking  gram- 
matical anomaly,  but  it  arises  out  of 
the  nature  of  the  subject.  When  God 
speaks  of  himself  it  is  no  matter  of 
wonder  that  he  should  disregard  all 
grammatical  rules,  for  adequate  expres- 
sions come  not  within  the  compass  of 
any  language  or  any  possible  form  of 
t;peech.  The  Targ.  of  Jonathan  thus 
feebly  halts  towards  a  fitting  phrase- 
ology, '  The  That-was  and  Hereafter- 
will-be  hath  sent  me  unto  you.'  And 
here  we  cannot  but  be  reminded  of  the 
remarkable  words  of  our  Savior,  John, 


God  of  your  fathers,  the  God  of 
Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob,  hath  sent  me 
unto  you:  this  is  'my  name  for 
ever,  and  this  is  my  memorial  unto 
all  generations. 

z  Ps.  135.  13.     Hos.  12.  5. 


8.  58,  '  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am.' 
The  expression  is  so  strikingly  paral- 
lel, that  we  know  not  how  to  resist  the 
conclusion  that  there  was  a  real  though 
mysterious  identity  in  the  essential  na- 
ture of  the  two  speakers,  so  that  what- 
ever was  meant  by  Jehovah  in  saying 
to  Moses,  '  I  am  hath  sent  me  to  you,' 
the  same  was  meant  by  the  saying  of 
Jesus,  '  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am.' 
And  thus  the  Jews  would  appear  to  have 
understood  it,  for  they  immediately  took 
up  stones  to  cast  at  him,  as  being  guilty 
of  the  highest  blasphemy  in  thus  appro- 
priating to  himself  the  incommunicable 
name  of  God. 

15.  This  is  my  memorial  unto  all 
generations.  Heb.  '^^IDT  zikri.  The 
name  or  character  by  which  I  Avill  be 
remembered,  celebrated,  and  invoked 
in  all  time  to  come.  Accordingly'-,  in 
allusion  to  this  declaration,  we  have 
Hos.  12.  5,  '  Even  the  Lord  (Jehovah) 
God  of  Hosts  ;  the  Lord  (Jehovah)  is 
his  memorial.''  Ps.  135,  '  Thy  name,  O 
Lord,  (Jehovah,)  endureth  for  ever ; 
and  thy  memorial,  O  Lord,  (Jehovah,) 
unto  all  generations.'  The  words  were 
evidently  adapted,  as  they  were  doubt- 
less intended,  to  bring  the  chosen  peo- 
ple to  a  devout  recognition  of  God  as 
emphatically  and  pre-eminently  the  God 
of  their  race,  and  to  wake  up  to  more 
lively  actings  that  faith  which  had  be- 
come dormant  under  the  pressure  of 
long  continued  aflliction.  Their  pro- 
tracted bondage,  though  it  had  not  ut- 
terly extinguished  the  light  of  the  great 
truth  respecting  the  divine  Being  and 
his  perfections,  yet  had  no  doubt  very 
much  obscured  it.  They  had  lost  the 
practical  sense  of  their  covenant  rela- 


52 


EXODUS. 


iB.  C.  1491. 


16  Go,  and  ^£::ailier  tlie  cltU'rs  of 
Israel  together,  and  say  unto  them. 
The  LoKD  God  of  your  fathers,  the 
God  of  Ahraliain,  of  Isaac,  and  of 
Jacob,  appeared  unto  me,  saying, 

a  ch.  4.  29. 

tion  to  Jehovah,  and  yet  as  this  was 
the  only  true  spring  of  all  active  faith, 
hope,  and  obedience,  it  was  important 
that  tliey  should  be  freshly  instructed 
on  this  head,  and  taught  continually  to 
speak  of  and  to  trust-  in  God  as  the  God 
of  their  fathers,  who  would  never  be  un- 
faithful to  his  engagements.  Moses, 
therefore,  by  reminding  them  of  this 
endearing  title  of  the  Most  High,  would 
be  in  fact  furnishing  them  with  a  con- 
stant memorial  of  their  own  mercies. 

16.  Gather  the  elders  of  Israel  toge- 
ther. Gr.  Tr}v  y£f)uv(Tiai>  twv  vimv  JirffarjA, 
the  senate  or  eldership  of  the  children 
of  Israel;  not  so  much  all  the  aged 
men  of  the  congregation  of  Israel,  as 
the  elders  in  office,  the  persons  of  prin- 
cipal note  and  influence  in  the  tribes, 
teachers  and  rulers ;  men  who  were 
^alified  by  age,  experience,  and  wis- 
dom, to  preside  over  the  affairs  of  the 
nation,  and  who  it  appears  were  usually 
employed  as  organs  of  communication 
between  Moses  and  the  body  of  the 
people.  Thus  when  INIoses  and  Aaron 
are  said,  ch.  12.  3,  to  have  been  com- 
manded '  to  speak  unto  all  the  congre- 
gation of  Israel,  saying,'  &c.  wo  And 
that  in  the  account  of  the  execution  of 
lliis  order,  v.  21, '  Moses  called  for  all 
the  elders  of  Israel,  and  said  unto  them,' 
&c.  See  Note  on  Gen.  24.  2 — 4.  As 
the  distinction  of  tribes  was  undoubt- 
edly kept  up  among  the  Israelites  in 
Egypt,  and  as  it  is  clear  from  Num.  2, 
and  elsewhere,  that  each  of  the  tribes 
had  one  or  mf)re  presiding  or  ruling 
chiefs  called  elders,  who  formed  col- 
lectively, at  least  in  after  times,  the 
great  counsel  of  the  nation,  it  was  to 
these  individuals,  as  the  natural  heads 
Md   representatives  of  the  rest,  that 


b  I  have  surely  visited  you,  and  seen 

that  which  is  done  to  you  in  Ejiypt: 

17  And  I  have  said,  cl  will  bilng 

you  up  out  of  the  --Miction  of  Eg^D^ 


bGen.  50.  24.  ch.  2.  25.  <v 
:Gen.  15.  14,  16.  ver.  8. 


Luke  1.6c. 


Moses  in  the  first  instance  was  com- 
manded to  go,  and  summon  them  to- 
gether to  a  general  assembly,  when  he 
would  announce  to  them  the  fact  and 
the  object  of  his  mission.  The  release 
of  Israel  was  to  be  demanded  of  the 
king  in  the  general  name  of  the  whole 
people,  and  this  required  the  consent 
and  concurrence  of  the  entire  body  of 
their  rulers,  the  proper  organs  of  the 
national  voice.  When  they  were  in- 
formed of  the  fact  and  convinced  of  the 
reality  of  JNIoses'  mission,  they  would 
of  course  exert  all  their  influence  in 
preparing  the  people  for  the  crisis  be- 
fore them. H I  have  surely  visited  you 

and  seen,  &c.  Heb.  "^tnpSj  np5  pakod 
pakadti,  visiting  I  have  visited.  That 
is,  I  have  so  absolutely  purposed  and 
decreed  to  deliver  you  from  Egj'pt,  that 
it  may  be  said  to  be  already  done.  Al- 
though the  word  '  seen'  is  supplied  in 
our  version,  it  is  not  indispensably  ne- 
cessary to  complete  the  sense,  as  the 
import  of  the  preceding  verb  includes 
the  idea  of  judicial  or  penal  visitation, 
as  well  as  merciful.  To  visit  the  doings 
of  any  one  is  plainly  to  punish  them. 
The  phrase  therefore  expresssively  con- 
veys the  assurance  of  visiting  the  Is- 
raelites in  mercy  and  their  oppressors 
in  judgment. 

17.  And  I  have  said  I  will  bring,  &c. 
That  is,  I  have  resolved.  See  Note  on 
Gen.  1 .  3.  The  term  '  affliction'  here 
will  appear  very  appropriate  upon  com- 
paring this  with  tlie  original  promise 
given  to  Abraham,  Gen.  15.  13, '  ICnow 
of  a  surety  that  thy  seed  shall  be  a 
stranger  in  a  land  that  is  not  theirs,  and 
shall  serve  them  ;  and  they  shall  afflict 
them  four  hundred  years.'  From  this 
affliction  they  were  now  to  be  delivered, 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  III. 


53 


unto  the  land  of  the  Canaanites, 
and  the  llittites,  and  the  Aniuriles, 
and  the  Perizxile?,  and  the  llivites, 
and  the  Jehusites,  unto  a  land  How- 
ing  wiih  milk  and  honey. 

18  And  *!  they  shall  hearken  to  thy 
voice  ;  and  cthou  shah  come,  thou 
and  the  elders  of  Israel,  unto  the 
king  of  Egypt,  and  ye  shall  say  unto 

dch,  4.  31.     ech.5.  1,3. 


I  him,  The  Lord  God  of  the  He- 
brews hath  ''met  with  us  ;  and  now 
let  us  go  (we  beseech  thee)  three 
day's  journey  into  the  wilderness, 
that  we  may  sacritice  to  the  Lord 
our  God. 

19  11  And  I  am  sure  that  the  king 
of  Egypt  swill  not  let  you  go,  no, 
not  by  a  mighty  hand. 

f  Numb.  23.  3,  4,  15,  16.     e  ch,  5.  2.  &  7.  4. 


and  in  order  to  stimulate  their  minds 
with  the  incentive  of  hope,  the  Most 
High  recites  a  list  of  nations  of  whose 
territories  they  were  to  come  into  pos- 
session, and  lest  moreover  they  should 
be  discouragofi  by  the  recollection  that 
several  of  the  patriarchs  had  been  for- 
merly driven  out  of  that  land  by  famine, 
he  gives  them  adequate  assurance  on 
that  head  by  telling  them  that  it  is  '  a 
land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.' 

18.  And  they. shall  hearken  to  thy  voice. 
That  iS;  shall  believingly  and  obedient- 
ly hearken.  See  Note  on  Gen.  16.  2. 
This  assurance  on  the  part  of  God  was 
peculiarly  seasonable  and  precious. 
The  Israehtcs  had  been  so  long  de- 
pressed and  dispirited  by  their  bond- 
age, that  they  would  naturally  be  slow 
to  entertain  any  thoughts  of  deliver- 
ance, and  a  cordial  willingness  to  use 
the  means,  encounter  tlie  difficulties, 
and  face  the  dangers  requisite  for  that 
purpose,  could  only  be  effected  by  a 
powerful  divine  influence  on  their  hearts; 
and  that  influence  God-here  engages  to 
put  forth.  Such  an  assurance  is  the 
grand  encouragement  of  ail  good  men 
engaged  in  declaring  useful  and  saving 
truths  or  commanding  laborious  duties 
to  their  fellow  men.  Their  best  Avords 
will  be  unregarded,  their  utmost  efforts 
will  fail,  unless  the  Lord  liimself  infuse 
a  vital  efl[icacy  into  them,  and  give 
the  hearing  ear  and  the  yielding  heart 

to  their  auditors. IT  The  Lord  God 

of  the  Hebrews  hath  met  with  us.  Heb. 
nip!]  nikrah,  has  beeti  made  to  occur. 
The  allusion  is  plainly  to  the  visible 


token  of  the  divine  presence  which  had 
been  manii'ested,  and  they  say  *  hath 
met  with  «s,'  though  Moses  alone  had 
witnessed  it,  from  his  constructive  iden- 
tity, as  leader,  with  the  people,  and 
from  its  having  been  vouchsafed  for 
their  benefit  as  well  as  his.  The  Gr. 
and  the  Vulg.  both  render,  '  hath  called 

us.' IT  Let  us  go  three  days'  journey 

into  the  xcildcrness,  &c.  Neither  Moses 
nor  he  in  whose  name  he  spoke,  can  be 
justlycharged  with  falsehood  or  preva- 
rication in  uttering  this  language.  The 
utmost  that  can  be  alleged  is,  that  he 
did  not  tell  the  whole  truth,  and  this  it 
cannot  be  shown  that  he  was  bound  to 
do.  See  on  this  subject  the  Note  on 
Gen.  12.  13.  The  command  to  make 
this  request  of  Pharaoh  shows,  that  it 
may  sometimes  be  the  way  of  true  wis- 
dom to  seek  that  as  a  favor,  which 
may  at  the  same  time  be  claimed  as  a 
right. 

19.  I  am  sure  that  the  king  of  Egypt 
will  not  let  you  go.  Ileb.  Cl^rS^  "^T:^  xb 
"j^n^  lo  yitten  ethkem  lahalok,  will  not 
give  you  to  go.  See  Note  on  Gen.  20.  6. 
God  announces  beforehand  that  their 
first  application  will  be  unavailing,  in 
order  that  they  may  not  be  disheartened 
by  the  repulse,  and  give  up  the  enter- 
prise as  hopeless.  Let  it  not  be  thought, 
however,  derogatory  to  the  divine  glory 
thus  to  send  men  advisedly  upon  a  boot- 
less errand  ;  for  the  result  would  tend  far 
more  strikingly  to  illustrate  the  equity 
of  the  subsequent  proceedings  of  provi- 
dence in  extorting,  with  tremendous 
judgments,  that  which  had  been  unjustly 


M 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1941. 


20  And  I  will  1' stretch  out  my 
hand,  and  !«niite  Ejjypt  with  iall 
mv  wonders  whicli  1  will  do  in  the 
midst  thereof:  and ''alter  that  he 
will  let  you  2:0. 

21  And  '  I  will  give  this  people  fa- 
vour in  the  sight  of  the  Egyptians  ; 

h  rh.  fi.  6.  &  7.  5.  A"  9.  15.  '  ch.  7.  3.  &  1 1.  9. 
Deut.  6.  -22.  Neh.  9.  10.  i's.  105,  27.  ct  133.  9. 
Jer.  32.  20.  Ails  7.  36.  Sec  ch.  7.  to  cii.  13. 
kch.  12.31.  I  ch.  11.3.  &  12.  36.  l\s,  10(i.4t;. 
Prov.  16.  7. 

and  impiously  withheld.  As  the  request 
was  in  itself  simple  and  reasonable,  his 
refusal  to  comply  with  it  would  disclose 
his  real  character,  and  show  how  truly 
he  and  his  people  deserved  all  the  wrath 
tliat  they  were  afterwards  made  to  feel. 

IT  A'o,  not  by  a  mighty  hand.    That 

is,  he  will  at  lirst  resist  and  rebel,  not- 
withstanding all  the  demonstrations  of 
my  great  power  against  him ;  but  at 
length  he  shall  yield,  as  is  declared  in 
the  next  verse.  Or  it  may  be  rendered, 
with  the  Gr.  and  Vulg.  '  Unless  by  a 
strong  hand.' 

20.  And  I  will  stretch  out  mine  hand, 
&c.  Heb.  Vin?"-^1  vcshalahti,and  I  will 
send  out.  Chal.  '  And  I  Avill  send  the 
stroke  of  my  strength.'  The  connective 
particle  1  and  may  as  properly  here  be 
rendered  but  or  therefore  ;  as  if  the  de- 
sign were  to  point  to  the  opposition 
which  God  was  to  make  to  Pliaraoh's 
resistance  ;  or  to  indicate  the  reason  of 
his  stretching  forth  his  hand  ;  '  There- 
fore will  I  stretch  forth  my  hand,  be- 
cause Pharaoh  will  not  yield  to  my  de- 
mand without  it,  I  will  see  whose  hand 
is  the  stronger,  his  or  mine.' 

21.  /  u-ill  give  this  people  favor  in 
the  sight  of  the  Egyptians.  Here  again 
we  perceive  that  God  has  his  eye  upon 
the  ancient  promise,  Gen.  lo.  14,  •  And 
also  tliat  nation  whom  they  shall  serve, 
will  I  judge  :  and  afterward  shall  they 
come  out  vith  great  substance.'  He 
allures  Ids  people  by  an  accumulation 
of  pronuses,  tliat  thoy  may  engage  in 
the  work  before  them  with  more  alac- 


and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that, 
when  ye  go,  ye  shall  not  go  empty : 
22  mJBut  every  woman  shall  bor- 
row of  her  neighbour,  and  of  her 
that  scjourneth  in  her  house,  jewels 
of  silver,  and  jewels  of  gold,  and  rai- 
ment :  and  ye  shall  put  the//i  upon 
your  sons,  and  upon  your  daughters ; 
and  »iye  shall  spoil  the  Egyptians. 

m  Gen.  15.  14.  ch.  11.  2.  &  12.  35,  36,  n  Job 
27.  17,     Prov,  13,  22,    Ezek,  39,  10, 


rity  and  vigor.  He  not  only  assures 
them  of  liberty,  but  of  riches.  But  this 
could  be  accomplished  onlj^  by  turning 
the  hostile  hearts  of  the  Egyptians  to  a 
posture  of  clemency  artf!  generosity, 
and  this  he  engages  to  do.  The  words, 
however, '  I  will  give  this  people  favor,' 
are  not  to  be  understood  as  intimating 
that  he  would  conciliate  toirards  them 
the  affection  of  their  enemies.  Un- 
doubtedly the  reverse  of  this  was  the 
case,  particularly  at  the  time  when  the 
promised  favor  was  shown  them  ;  for 
they  were  then  trembling  for  their  lives 
under  the  repeated  inflictions  of  the 
plagues ;  but  the  meaning  is,  that  God 
would  so  overrule  their  dispositions  to- 
wards his  people  that  they  should  be- 
stow upon  them  marked  expressions  of 
favor,  they  should  be  induced  to  treat 
them  as  if  they  loved  them,  though  in 
reality  they  hated  them  as  the  procur- 
ing cause  of  all  their  troubles.  Such  an 
absolute  control  over  the  fiercest  spirits 
of  the  enemies  of  his  churcli  shows  that 
when  God  allows  them  to  rage  it  is  for 
the  wisest  purposes  of  discipline  to  his 
people.  As  he  could  soften  them  in  a 
moment,  if  he  does  not  do  so,  it  is 
because  he  sees'  it  better  that  license 
should  be  afforded  them  for  a  season. 

22.  Every  uvman  shall  borrow  of  her 
neighbor,  &c.  Heb.  n^K'iD  shaalah, 
shall  cLsk.  For  a  somewhat  extended 
view  of  the  moral  character  of  this 
transaction  see  Note  on  Ex.  12.35.  We 
shall  there  see  that  when  God  com- 
manded the  Israelites  to  nossess  them- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  IV. 


55 


A 


CHAPTER  IV. 
ND  Moses  answered  and  said, 
But,  behold,  they  will  not  be- 


selves  of  the  jewels  and  raiment  of 
their  enemies,  and  to  '  spoil'  them,  they 
did  not  take  them  by  rajnue  and  stealth, 
but  as  spoils  vohmtaiil)'  given  up  to 
them  by  the  Egyptians  ;  in  a  word,  that 
there  is  no  ground  in  the  import  of  the 
original  for  accusing  the  Israelites  of 
fraud  or  injustice.  Williout  anticipat- 
ing the  fuller  canvassing  the  subject 
which  we  there  propose,  we  may  here 
remark,  that  the  term  '  borrow'  has 
been  somewhat  unha])pily  adopted  in 
our  translation,  as  it  implies  a.  promise 
of  return.  But  this  is  not  the  sense  of 
the  original  ^lii'J  shoal.  This  signifies 
to.^sk,  demand^  petition^  request,  and 
is  the  very  word  employed  Ps.  2.  S, 
'  Ask  (ii<"J:r  sheal)  of  me  the  heathen 
for  thine  inheritance,'  &c. ;  although  m 
two  passages,  Ex.  22.  14,  and  2  Kings, 

6.  5,  it  cannot  perhaps  be  doubted  that 
its  import  is  that  o[  borrowing.  But  for 
borrow  in  the  more  strict  and  genuine 
sense  of  the  word,  the  Ileb.  has  entirely 
another  term  nib  lavdh,  which  occurs 
among  other  places,  Deut.  28. 12,  '  Thou 
shalt  lend  unto  many  nations,  and  thou 
shalt  not  borrow  (n"ilin  hilvitha).' 
Neh.  5.  4,  '  There  were  also  that  said. 
We  have  borroired  Cl^*^!^  lavinv) 
money  for  the  king's  tribute.'  Prov.  22. 

7,  '  The  borrower  (mb^D  malveh)  is 
servant  to  the  lender.'  Is.  24.  2,  '  And 
it  shall  be,  as  with  the  lender,  so  with 

the  borrower  (nly^  malvch).^ IT  Of 

her  that  sojovrneth  in  her  house.  Heb. 
nri'^D  ri13?3  miggarath  bethah.  Gr. 
ffVfTKrii'ov  avTTig^  her  fellow-dweller.  Chal. 
'  From  her  who  is  a  near  neighbor  to 
her  house.'  But  this  is  not  an  exact 
rendering  of  the  Heb.  nor  does  it  differ 
sufficiently  from  the  preceding  term. 
Tlie  original  properly  signifies  an  in- 
dirdler,  as  in  Job,  19.  15,  '  They  that 
dwell  in  mine  house  ("Ti'^D  ^1^  gnr't 
b'thi),  and  my  maids  count  me  for  a 


lieve  me,  nor  hearken  nnto  my 
voice:  fur  they  will  say,  The  Lord 
hath  not  appeared  unto  thee. 


stranger.'  The  imjdication  would  seem 
to  be,  that  the  Egyptians  in  some  cases 
occupied  tenements  which  belonged  to 
the  Israelites,  or  at  any  rate  that  they 
lived  very  closely  intermingled  toge- 
ther, a  circumsUmce  which  gave  them  a 
better  opportunity  to  despoil  their  op- 
pressors  of  their  eliects. If  Jewels 

of  silver  and  jewels  of  gold.''  Heb.  "^^^ 
kelc.  The  present  rendering  no  doubt 
restricts  too  much  the  meaning  of  the 
original,  which  properly  includes  res- 
sels,  implements.)  utensils,  of  any  kind 
made  of  gold  or  silver.  The  term  is 
here  equivalent  to  valuable  effects. 
These  they  were  to  '  put  upon  their 
sons  and  upon  their  daughters,'  by 
which  would  naturally  be  understood 
from  our  translation,  that  they  were  to 
put  them  upon  their  children  as  orna- 
ments. But  would  the  sons  wear  female 
ornaments  ?  A  much  more  probable 
supposition  is,  that  they  were  to  lay 
them  upon  the  young  people  as  a  bur- 
den to  be  carried.  If  the  original  term 
meant  nothing  but  jeirels,  the  former 
interpretation  would  no  doubt  be  en- 
tirely plausible.  But  we  have  seen  that 
it  includes  every  kind  of  gold  and  silver 
articles.  They  were  therefore  put  upon 
their  sons  and  daughters,  not  to  be 
worn,  but  to  be  carried. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
1.  Moses  answered  and  said.  But  be- 
hold, they  will  not  believe  me.  Heb. 
yil  ve-hcn,  and  behold.  The  Gr.  we 
incline  to  believe  has  the  most  correct 
rendering  cav.  if,  making  it  a  hypotheti- 
cal instead  of  an  absolute  affirmation  of 
Moses.  Thus  too  the  Arab,  '  Perhaps 
they  will  not  believe  me.'  The  original 
term  is  expressly  so  rendered,  Jer.  3.  1, 
'  They  say  if  ("^n  hen')  a  man  put 
away  his  wife,  and  she  go  from  him,' 
&c.     It  cannot  indeed    be  questioned 


56 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


2  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him, 
What  ts  that  in  thy  hand  ?  And  he 
said,  a  A  rod. 


a  ver.  17.  20,- 


that  Moses  was  reluctant  to  be  employ- 
ed on  the  embassy  to  Pharaoh  and  in- 
tended in  these  words  to  urge  an  ob- 
jection, but  the  phraseology  appears  to 
present  it  in  a  conditional  form.  Other- 
wise, it  may  be  asked,  on  what  au- 
thority did  he  make  the  assertion? 
How  did  he  know  that  the  elders  would 
not  believe  him,  Avhen  God  had  ex- 
pressly assured  liim,  ch.  3.  IS,  that  they 
would  ?  Would  he  adventure  upon  such 
a  pointed  contradiction  of  the  words  of 
Jehovah  ? 

2.  What  is  that  in  thine  hand  ?  The 
drift  of  this  question  is  simply  to  wake 
up  and  direct  Moses'  attention  to  the 
miracle  about  to  be  wrought.  It  is  as 
if  he  had  said,  '  Take  particular  notice, 
and  see  that  there  is  no  illusion  in  the 
matter.  Be  sure  that  what  you  see  is 
really  what  you  take  it  to  be.'  When 
God  questions  his  creatures  it  is  not  for 
the  sake  of  learning,  but  of  teaching. 

IT  And  he  said,  a  rod.     Heb.  nt0>3 

matteh,  a  rod,  or  staff,  as  it  is  rendered 
Gen.  38.  IS ;  i.  e.  such  a  rod  or  crook 
as  is  used  by  shepherds  in  tending  their 
flocks.  Thus  Mic.  7.  14,  '  Feed  thy 
people  with  thy  rod  the  flock  of  thine 
heritage.'  In  v.  20,  it  is  called  the 
*  rod  of  God'  from  the  miraculous  effects 
which  it  was  instrumental  in  working. 
Comp.  V.  20. 

3.  And  it  became  a  serpent.  Heb. 
u.'n;^  Ti"'  yehi  lenahash,  it  became  to 
a  serpent.  It  will  ])robably  answer  all 
the  demands  of  the  text  to  consider  this 
as  sim))ly  a  miraculous  sign  intended 
to  authenticate  the  mission  of  Moses. 
We  are  not  required  to  seek  or  assign  a 
reason  why  this  particular  sign  was 
adopted  rather  than  any  other,  yet  we 
may  without  extravagance  suppose  that 
there  uvs  some  intrinsic  adaptedness 
in  the  sign  selected  to  the  purpose  of 


3  And  he  said,  Cast  it  on  the 
ground.  And  he  cast  it  on  the 
ground,  and  it  became  a  serpent : 
and  Moses  fled  from  before  it. 


its  exhibition.  In  what  this  consisted 
it  may  not  be  easy  confidently  to  affirm. 
Calvin  suggests  with  great  plausibility, 
that  the  drift  of  it  Avas  to  intimate  the 
formidablencss  of  Moses  to  Pharaoh, 
notwithstanding  his  comparatively  ab- 
ject and  despised  condition.  The  staff 
was  the  ensign  of  the  shepherd's  call- 
ing,  and  what  to  human  view  more  con- 
temptible than  a  rustic  keeper  of  sheep 
coming  forth  from  the  desert,  where  he 
had  been  accustomed  to  encounter  only 
wild  beasts  of  prey,  and  oppose  his 
simple  crook  to  the  sceptre  of  a  power- 
ful king  ?  Would  not  this  be  a  very  ^ 
significant  mode  of  teaching  that  how- 
ever destitute  of  human  means  of  in- 
timidation, the  shepherd  of  Midian 
should  notwithstanding  be  rendered 
dreadful  to  a  throned  oppressor,  when 
the  rude  staff  that  he  carried  in  his 
hand  should  be  a  more  destructive  in- 
strument than  a  thousand  swords?  His 
own  affrightment  on  the  occasion  would 
tend  to  give  him  a  deeper  sense  of  the 
hidden  power  of  that  terror  which  Om- 
nipotence could  strike  into  the  inmost 
spirit  of  his  adversary,  and  he  could  not 
but  infer  that  there  was  no  need  of 
numerous  forces  or  great  preparations 
when  he  carried  in  his  hand  an  imple- 
ment the  bare  sight  of  which  was  able 
to  smite  the  monarch  with  consterna- 
tion. It  may  be  proper,  however,  to 
observe  that  the  Jewish  commentators 
are  disposed  to  consider  the  serpent 
as  representing  Pharaoh  rather  than 
Moses.  As  the  original  IL'TO  nahash, 
as  remarked  on  Gen.  3.  1,  is  occasion, 
ally  interclianged  with  y^ltl  tannin, 
dragon,  the  very  word  in  fact  which  oc- 
curs Ex.  7.  10,  '  And  Aaron  cast  down 
his  rod  before  Pharaoh  and  before  his 
servants,  and  it  became  a  serpent  C^'^Sn 
tannin),''    and    as    Pharaoh,    king   of 


.  C.  1491.^ 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Jt 


4  And  the  Lokd  said  unto  Moses, 
Put  forth  thy  hand,  and  take  it  by 
the  tail.  And  he  put  forth  his 
hand,  and  caught  it,  and  it  became 
a  rod  in  his  hand  : 

5  That  they  may  i>  believe  that 
c  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers,  the 
God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac, 

bch.  10.9.     cch.  .^.  13. 


I  and  the  God  of  Jacob,  hath  ap- 
\  pea  red  unto  thee. 
j  6  ^r  And  the  Lord  said  further- 
j  more  unto  him.  Put  now  thine  hand 
I  into  thy  bosom.  And  he  put  his 
I  hand  into  his  bosom  :  and  when 

he  took   it  out,  behold,  his  hand 

icas  leprous  d  as  snow. 

<1  Numb.  12.  10.    2  Kings  5.  27. 


Egypt,  is  termed,  Ezek.  29.  3,  '  The 
great  dragon  (C*^Dri  tannim)  that  lieth 
in  the  midst  of  his  rivers,'  they  suggest 
hat  the  rod  converted  into  this  reptile- 
nonster,  (perhaps  the  crocodile,  as 
ightfoot  believes),  was  designed  to 
represent  Pharaoh  in  all  the  terrors  of 
liis  cruelty  and  oppression  ;  while  on 
tnt.  other  hand  his  being  seized  by  the 
hand  of  Moses,  and  converted  into  an 
innocuous  rod,  indicated  the  ease  Avith 
which,  under  the  mighty  working  of 
God,  he  should  be  subdued,  despoiled 
of  his  power  to  harm,  and  even  brought 
to  confess  himself  to  be  at  the  mercy 
of  Moses,  as  a  rod  is  wielded  by  the 
hand  of  its  possessor.  Thus,  Eliezer, 
*>,  Jewish  commentator :  '  As  the  ser- 
pent biteth  and  killeth  the  sons  of 
Adam,  so  Pharaoh  and  his  people  did 
bite  and  kill  the  Israelites  ;  but  he  was 
turned  and  made  like  a  dry  stick.' 

5.  That  they  may  believe,  &c.  The 
sentence  is  apparently  imperfect,  re- 
quiring some  such  preliminary  clause, 
as  '  Do  this,  that  they  may  believe,  &c.' 
For  a  similar  omission,  and  the  manner 
.A  which  it  is  to  be  supplied,  compare 
M  irk,  14. 49, '  I  was  daily  with  you  in  the 
temjile  teaching,  and  ye  took  me  not : 
but  the  Scriptures  must  be  fulfilled ,'  with 
Matt.  26.  55,  56,  '  I  sat  daily  with  you 
teaching  in  the  temple,  and  ye  laid  no 
hold  on  me.  But  all  this  iras  done,  that 
the  Scriptures  of  the  prophets  might 
be  fulfilled.'  The  miracle  was  not  only 
exhibited  on  this  occasion  to  Moses, 
but  the  power  conferred  upon  him  of 
working  it  himself  both  for  tlie  purpose 
of  acquiring  credenct  among  the  Israel- 


ites, and  of  overawing  the  obstinacy  of 
Pharaoh.  The  incident  goes  evidently 
on  the  ground  that  miracles  are  a  cer- 
tain and  satisfactory  proof  of  the  divin- 
ity of  the  mission  and  doctrine  of  a 
prophet.  They  constitute  the  proper 
credentials  of  one  sent  of  God.  They 
are  a  divine  testimony  both  to  the  com- 
mission of  the  messenger  and  to  the 
truth  of  the  message.  The  principle 
on  which  miracles  are  wrought  is  clear- 
ly and  distinctly  recognised  in  the  words  ^ 
of  the  woman  of  Sarepta  to  the  prophet 
who  had  raised  her  son  to  life,  1  Kings, 
17.  24,  '  Now  by  this  I  know  thou  art  a 
man  of  God,  and  that  the  word  of  the 
Lord  by  thy  mouth  is  truth.'  This  is 
the  language  of  nature  and  of  common 
sense. 

6.  Put  now  thine  hand  into  thy  bosom, 
&c.  That  is,  into  the  open  part  of  the 
tunic,  a  long  outer  robe,  above  the  gir- 
dle. The  drift  of  this  second  sign  was 
similar  to  that  of  the  first,  for  with 
these  miraculous  voices  '  God  speaketh 
once,  yea  twice,'  though  it  is  too  often 
the  case  that '  man  regardeth  it  not.'  As 
far  as  the  intrinsic  significancy  of  the 
sign  is  concerned,  it  was  evidently  cal- 
culated to  teach  that  whatever  is  now 
vigorous,  vital,  and  flourishing  may  at 
once  be  withered  at  the  nod  of  Omni- 
potence ;  and  again  with  equal  facility 
restored  to  its  pristine  condition.  The 
effect  of  a  leprosy  was  to  banish  the 
subject  of  it  from  the  abodes  of  men  to 
solitary  seclusion.  As  far  as. the  mira- 
cle had  relation  to  the  person  of  Moses, 
an  emblematic  leprosy  was  upon  him 
when  he  went  out  as  a  shunned  and 


58 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


7  And  he  said,  Put  thine  liand 
into  thy  husum  aijain.  And  he  put 
his  hand  into  liis  bosom  a2:ain,  and 
pUickcd  it  out  of  liis  bosom,  and 
behold,  e  it  was  turned  again  as  his 
other  liesh. 

e  Deul,  32.  39  Numb.  12.  1.1,  14.  2  Kings 
5,  14,     Malt.  8.  3. 


hated  fugitive  from  the  palace  of  Pha- 
raoh, and  led  his  flock  over  the  rough, 
sandy,  and  arid  places  of  the  Midian 
desert,  and  among  sapless  thorns  and 
thickets.  After  passing  forty  years  in 
this  desolate  state,  cast  out  as  a  with- 
ered branch,  without  name,  without  re- 
pute, without  power,  he  suddenly  re- 
covers all  he  had  lost,  and  comes  forth 
as  a  messenger  of  God,  clothed  in  all 
the  honors  of  a  divine  commission. 
With  a  slight  modification,  the  same 
4  sign  may  be  considered  as  shadowing 
forth  the  contrast  between  the  condition 
of  the  Israelites,  wasted  and  worn  out 
in  their  bondage,  and  the  state  of  pros- 
perity and  glory  to  which  they  were 
about  to  be  raised  as  the  elect  people 
of  Heaven.  This  view  is  sufficient  to 
show  the  pertinency  of  the  sign,  without 
requiring  us  to  fix  upon  any  more  re- 
condite import.  It  was  plainly  adapted 
to  teach  the  general  salutary  lesson, 
that  every  thing  human  stands  or  falls, 
flourishes  or  fades,  according  to  the 
good  pleasure  of  God  ;  that  it  is  his 
prerogative  to  weaken  and  abase  the 
stout,  the  hardy,  the  lofty,  and  his  to 
restore  the  decayed  and  fallen  to  life, 

activity,  and  vigor. IT  Leprous  as 

snow.  As  snow  is  not  leprous,  refer- 
ence must  be  intended  to  the  color  of 
the  flesh.  Accordingly  the  Chal.  has 
correctly,  *  As  white  as  snow.'  This 
■was  the  worst  kind  of  leprosy,  in 
which  the  body  not  only  assumes  the 
hue  of  dead  and  bloodless  flesh,  but  be- 
comes covered  with  white  scales,  at- 
tended with  a  most  tormenting  itch. 

8.  If  they  vill  not  hearkeri  to  the  voice 
of  the  first  sign.    That  is,  to  the  im- 


8  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if 
they  will  not  believe  thee,  neither 
hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  first 
sign,  that  they  will  believe  the 
voice  of  the  latter  sign. 

9  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if 
they  will  not  believe  also  these  two 
signs,  neither  hearken   unto   thy 


port,  meaning,  drift,  of  the  first  sign. 
See  Note  upon  the  sense  of  the  word 
'  voice,'  Gen.  21.  17.  The  sign  is  said 
to  have  a  '  voice,'  because  it  speaks 
that  to  the  eye  which  words  do  to  the 
ear.  On  the  contrary,  that  which  is 
addressed  to  the  ear  is  sometimes  repre- 
sented as  if  exhibited  to  the  eye  ;  thus 
Gal.  3.  1,  '  Before  whose  eyes  Jesus 
Christ  hath  been  evidently  set  forth 
crucified  among  you  ;'  i.  e.  who  have 
heard  this  fact  declared  in  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel.  The  Psalmist  proba- 
bly alludes  to  the  phraseology  of  the 
text,  Ps.  105.  27,  '  They  showed  his 
signs  among  them.'  Heb.  *  They  show- 
ed the  words  of  his  signs.'  They  were 
words  spoken  to  the  ear  of  reason,  if 

not  of  sense. IT  They  will  believe  the 

voice  of  the  latter  sign.  This  is  not 
perhaps  to  be  understood  as  a  positive 
affirmation,  for  the  next  verse  intimates 
the  possibility  that  they  may  require 
still  farther  evidence.  The  words  ap- 
pear designed  to  express  the  intrinsic 
adaptedness  of  the  signs  to  produce  be- 
lief, or  the  effect  which  might  be  reason- 
ably anticipated  from  their  exhibition. 
The  circumstance  strikingly  shows  the 
extent  of  the  divine  indulgence.  The 
perverse  rejection  of  the  first  sign  alone 
would  clearly  show  them  unworthy  of 
being  favored  with  another.  But  God 
multiplies  mercies,  even  when  judg- 
ments are  most  richly  deserved.  He 
gives  sign  upon  sign,  as  well  as  line 
upon  line. 

9.  Take  of  the  water  of  the  river. 
That  is,  of  the  river  Nile.  This,  it  would 
appear,  was  a  miracle  to  be  wrought 
for  the  confirmation  of  Moses'  calling 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  IV. 


59 


voice,  that  thou  shalt  take  of  the 
water  of  the  river,  and  pour  U 
upon  the  dry  land  :  and  f  the  wa- 
ter which  thou  takest  out  of  the 
river  shall  become  blood  upon  the 
dry  land. 

i  ch.  7.  19. 


before  the  Israelites  and  not  before  tlie 
Egyptians,  for  in  that  mentioned,  ch.  7. 
17,  the  waters  in  the  river  were  to  be 
turned  into  blood,  here  the  water  taken 
out  of  the  river.  The  sign  imported, 
perhaps,  that  the  time  was  now  at  hand 
when  God  would  judge  the  Egyptians  for 
the  death  of  the  Hebrew  infants,  whose 
blood  they  had  shed  in  the  waters. 

10.  0  my  Lord,  I  am  not  eloquent, 
Heb.  D'^^lDT  'i'^^l^  ish  debarim,  a  man  of 
wo7-ds.  Thus,  Job,  11.  2,  'A  man  of 
lips,'  i.  e.  a  talkative  man  ;  Eng.  '  a 
man  full  of  talk.'  Job,  22.  8, '  Man  of 
arm  5'  i.  e.  mighty  man.  Ps.  140.  11, 
'  man  of  tongue  ;'  i.  e.  prattler,  or,  per- 
haps, slanderer.  The  Gr.  has  ovk  iKavog 
eifji,  I  am  not  sufficient.  We  cannot 
but  wonder  at  the  backwardness  of  Mo- 
ses, although  we  are  forced  to  admire 
the  fidelity  of  the  historian  in  thus 
frankly  recording  his  own  incredulity 
and  perverseness.  Though  it  is  doubt- 
less true  that  nothing  becomes  a  man 
so  much  as  humility,  yet  diffidence  may 
degenerate  into  distrust,  and  carry  us 
into  a  criminal  disobedience  of  the  posi- 
tive commands  of  God,  He  who  calls 
us  into  the  field  of  action  can  give  us 
both  wisdom  and  strength  to  perform 
the  work  which  he  has  laid  upon  us. 
When  Moses  expressed  his  inherent  in- 
ability to  exewite  the  mighty  charge,  he 
did  well ;  but  when  he  resisted  the  ap- 
pointment, after  so  many  promises  and 
signs,  he  failed  in  his  duty,  and  be- 
trayed a  spirit  of  the  most  culpable  un- 
belief.    But  even  this  was  borne  with. 

IT   Neither  heretofore,    nor  since 

thou  hcL<it  spoken.  Heb.  '  Since  yester- 
day, and  since  the  third  day.'  A  usual 
form  of  speech  to  intimate  tiine  past  in 


10  H  And  Moses  said  unto  the 
Lord,  O  my  Lord,  I  am  not  elo- 
quent, neither  heretofore,  nor  since 
thou  hast  spoken  unto  thy  servant : 
but  g  I  am  slow  of  speech,  and  of  a 
slow  tongue. 

ffch.  6.  12.    Jer.  1.6. 


general.  See  Note  on  Gen.  31.  2.  Some 
have  supposed  that  Moses  labored  un- 
der a  natural  defect  of  utterance,  and 
that  he  declined  the  commanded  ser- 
vice from  an  apprehension  that  the  ef- 
feet  of  his  message  might  be  defeated 
in  the  delivery  of  it.  He  is  supposed 
therefore  to  intimate  in  the  present  pas- 
sage, that  as  the  infirmity  of  which  he 
speaks  had  been  of  long  standing,  and 
as  he  perceived  no  alteration  in  himself 
for  the  better  in  this  respect  during  the 
present  interview,  he  knew  not  any 
reason  to  think  that  the  difficulty  was 
likely  to  be  obviated  ;  for  if  at  this 
time,  while  God  was  speaking  to  him, 
wlio  had  power  at  once  to  remove  all 
impediment  of  speech,  his  defective 
articulation  continued,  much  more  was 
it  likely  to  continue  afterward.  But 
whether  his  objection  was  founded  upon 
this,  or  upon  the  want  of  that  ready  and 
copious  command  of  language  which 
constitutes  the  powerful  orator,  we  have 
not  the  means  of  ascertaining.  He  was 
soon  however  taught  that  he  who  made 
the  mouth  could  make  it  eloquent. 
IF  Slow  of  speech  and  of  a  slow  tongue. 
Heb.  ']ro'^  -iri^T  HD  HD^  kcbad  peh  u 
kebad  lashon,  heavy  of  mouth  and  heavy 
of  tongue.  Gr.  '  Of  a  small  voice  and 
of  a  slow  tongue.'  Chal.  <  Of  a  heavy 
speech  and  of  a  deep  tongue.'  As  the 
words  are  rendered  in  our  translation, 
it  would  be  difficult,  pcrha])s,  to  mark 
the  distinction  between  'slow  of  speech,' 
and  '  of  a  slow  tongue  ;'  but  from  the 
tlie  force  of  the  original  we  gather,  that 
the  former  is  more  appropriate  to  an 
imperfect  elocution,  occasioned  by  some 
defect  in  the  action  of  the  organs  of 
speech  ;  the  latter,  to  a  want  of  aptness 


60 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


11  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him, 
fi  Wlio  ha  til  made  man's  mouth  ?  or 
who  makc'ili  the  dumb,  i-r  deaf,  or 
tlie  seeinij,  or  the  blind  (  have  not 
1  the  Loi;D  ? 

1:^  .Now  therefore  c^o,  and  I  will  be 
•  with  ihy  mouth,  and  teach  thee 
what  tliou  shall  say. 

h  ps.  94.  9.  "  Isai.  50.  4.  Jcr.  1.9.  Matt. 
1(1.19.  Mark  13.  11.  Luke  12.  11,  12.  &  21. 
14.15. 


or  felicity  in  adapting  one's  expressions 
to  tlic  ideas  uhich  he  wishes  to  con- 
vey. The  latter  phrase  occurs,  Exek. 
3.  5,  6,  where  it  is  rendered, '  hard  lan- 
guage,' i.  e.  obscure,  requiring  inter- 
pretation, as  it  is  immediately  added, 
'  whose  words  thou  canst  not  under- 
stand.' There  is  perhaps  an  intimation 
that  in  the  long  lapse  of  forty  years  he 
had  almost  los.t  the  true  pronunciation 
of  the  Egyptian  language. 

II.  Who  hath  made  man''s  moxith. 
Heb.  Sli^p  HiT  Q3  "^?2  mi  sam  peh  le- 
adam,  xcho  put  the  mouth  to  man,  or,  to 
Adam  ?  Targ.  Jon.  '  Who  is  he  who 
jdaccd  the  utterance  of  speech  in  the 
mouth  of  Adam  the  first  man?'  Arab. 
*  Who  created  pronunciation  to  man  V 
By  this  appeal  to  Moses  respecting  the 
origin  of  the  human  faculties,  God  would 
have  him  to  infer,  that  he  who  bestowed 
them  upon  the  first  man  could,  with  in- 
finite ease,  endow  liim  with  those  which 
were  lacking  and  remedy  those  which 
vere  imperfect. 

13.  O  my  Lord,  send  T pray  thee,  &c. 
Chal.  and  Targ.  Jerus.  '  Send  now  by 
the  hand  of  him  who  is  worthy  to  be 
sent.'  r.r.  '  Choose  another  able  man 
whom  thou  wilt  send.'  By  the  Heb. 
idiom  the  term  <  liand'  is  used  to  denote 
any  kind  of  instrmnentality  or  minis- 
try ;  thus  Ex.  9.  3.3,  '  As  the  Lord  had 
spoken  by  Moses.'  Heb.  '  By  the  hand 
of  Mo^ps.'  2  Kings,  17.  13,  '  Yet  the 
Lord  testified  against  Israel  by  all  the 
proj.hets.'  Heb.  <  By  the  hand  of  all 
prophets.'      Is.  64.  7,   'And   has  cou- 


13  And  he  said,  O  my  Lord,  k  send, 
I  pray  thee,  by  the  hand  of  him 
ichom  ihcu  wilt  send. 

14  And  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was 
kindled  against  Moses,  and  he  said, 
Is  not  Aaron  the  Levite  tliy  brother  ? 
1  know  that  he  can  speak  w^ell.  Ajid 
also,  behold,  Uie  corneth  forth  to 
meet  thee :  and  when  he  seeth 
thee,  he  will  be  glad  in  his  heart. 

k  Jonah  1.3.     1  ver.  27.     1  Sam.  10.  2,  3,  5. 


sumed  us  because  of  our  iniquities.' 
Heb.  '  By  the  hand  of  our  iniquities.' — 
The  reluctance  of  Moses  to  engage  in 
the  work  is  not  yet  overcome.  And 
w^ho  can  wonder  that  the  anger  of  the 
Lord  was  kindled  against  him  ?  Had 
an  eaTthly  monarch  been  thus  rudely 
treated  by  one  of  his  subjects,  whom  he 
chose  to  honor  b}'  sending  him  as  his 
representative  to  a  foreign  court,  would 
he  not  have  been  justified  in  spurning 
the  man  from  his  presence,  and  confer- 
ring the  high  distinction  upon  some  one 
else?  So,  had  God  taken  Moses  at  his 
word,  and  entirely  discarded  him  from 
the  honorable  service  to  wliicli  he  was 
thus  called,  he  would  only  have  treated 
him  as  he  deserved.  But  the  divine  for- 
bearance was  not  yet  exhausted. 

14.  Is  not  Aaron  the  Levite  thy  brother 
The  literal  rendering  of  this  clause  is 
'  Is  not  Aaron  thy  brother  the  Levite  V 
w^hich  w-e  cannot  but  understand  as  im- 
plying, that  in  consequence  of  Moses' 
unbelieving  waywardness  on  this  occa- 
sion, the  distinguishing  honor  of  the 
priesthood,  and  of  being  the  official 
head  of  the  house  of  Levi,  the  person  in 
whom  the  dignity  of  that  name  should 
be  especially  centred,  which  would 
otherwise  have  been  bestowed  upon 
him,  should  now  be  conferred  upon  his 
brother  Aaron,  and  perpetuated  in  his 
family.  In  this  fact  the  expression  of 
the  Lord's  anger  consisted.  Otherwise 
hbw  w^as  Aaron  any  more  '  the  Levite 
than  Moses  ?  W^e  find  accordingly  the 
forfeited  privilege  of  Moses  thus  se 


B.  C.  149^'..] 


CHAPTER  IV. 


61 


15  And  mthou  shalt  speak  unto 
him,  and  "put  Avords  in  his  mouth: 

mch.  7. 1,2.  n  Numb.  22.  38.  &  23.  5,  12,16. 
Deut.  IS.  18.     Isai.  51.  16.     Jer.  1.  9. 

cured  to  Aaron,  1  Chron.  23.  13,  '  And 
Aaron  was  separated  that  he  should 
sanctify  the  most  holy  things,  he  and 
his  sons  for  ever,  to  burn  incense  before 
the  Lord,  to  minister  unto  him,  and  to 
bless  his  name  for  ever.'  This,  we  sup- 
pose would  have  been  the  honor  of  Mo- 
ses, had  he  yielded  a  ready  obedience  to 
the  divine  mandate.  The  event  teaches 
us  that  those  who  decline  the  labor  and 
hazard  connected  with  the  call  of  God 
to  a  special  service,  may  thereby  forfeit 
and  forego  a  blessing  of  which   they 

little  dream. ^  I  know  that  he  can 

speak  u-ell.  Heb.  ^nT^  ^Dl  ^2  ki 
dabbi'r  yedabbcr,  that  speaking  he  U'ill 

speak. IT  Behold,  he  corneth  forth  to 

meet  thee.  This  was  plainly  the  annun- 
ciation of  a  future  event.  As  Moses 
had  not  hitherto  thought  of  leaving 
Midian,  nor  had  yet  started  upon  his 
journey  thence,  if  Aaron  was  now  on 
his  way  to  meet  his  brother,  it  must 
have  been  in  car.s;qi:eu;e  of  a  divine 
suggestion,  for  from  3.)  other  source 
could  he  have  had  any  irximation  that 
he  should  meet  him.  Yet  no  one  can 
question  that  God,  from  his  foresight  of 
Moses'  departure  from  Midian,  might 
have  put  it  into  the  heart  of  Aaron  to 
go  forth  anticipating  an  interview  with 
one  who  was  dear  to  him  by  nature,  and 
whom,  after  an  absence  of  forty  years 
he  would  be  very  desirous  to  see.  The 
hearts  of  the  different  agents  are  often 
moved  to  the  same  work  at  a  great  dis- 
tance from  each  other.  It  would  seem 
that  the  Most  High  was  simultaneously 
drawing  Aaron  with  one  hand  from 
Egypt,  and  Moses  with  the  other  from 
Midian.  The  vision  ought  undoubtedly 
Ht  once  to  have  impelled  Moses  for- 
ward to  a  compliance  with  the  divine 
injunction  ;  but  as  Omniscience  saw 
the  result  from  the  beginning,  he  pro- 
VoL.  I  6 


and  I  will  be  with  thy  mouth,  and 
with  his  mouth,  and  owill  leach 
you  what  ye  shall  do. 

o  Deut.  5.  31. 


vidcd  a  new  stimulus  to  his  apathy  in 
the  promise  of  meeting  his  brother  in 
the  desert,  whom  he  determined  by  a 
secret  impulse  to  lead  forth  for  that 
purpose.  In  a  manner  somewhat  anal- 
ogous Ananias  was  directed  in  a  vision 
to  go  and  meet  Saul  of  Tarsus,  Acts, 
9.  17,  in  order  to  be  an  instrument  of 
opening  his  eyes  and  confirming  his 
faith.  This  favor  the  perverse  impor- 
tunity of  Moses  extorted  from  God,  but 
he,  in  the  plenitude  of  his  goodness, 
determined  to  elicit  from  the  fault  of 
his  servant  new  matter  of  grace  ;  as  it 
is  his  to  bring  light  out  of  darkness. 
In  saying  that  he  knew  that  Aaron 
would  be  '  glad  in  his  heart'  upon  meet- 
ing his  brother,  he  designs  perhaps  to 
administer  a  covert  reproof  to  the  tardi- 
ness of  Moses  ;  q.  d.  '  Aaron  is  coming 
forth  with  alacrity,  and  shall  hail  thee 
with  joy  and  exhilaration  of  spirits, 
whilst  thou,  restrained  by  sinful  dis- 
trust and  weighed  down  with  sadness, 
canst  scarcely  drag  thyself  forward  to 
a  meeting.' 

15.  And  thou  shalt  speak  unto  him, 
&c.  The  Lord  in  these  words  declares 
that  he  will  not  admit  his  plea  of,  '  I 
pray  thee  have  me  excused,'  and  yet  so 
does  it  as  to  consult  his  servant's  honor 
against  his  will.  When  he  might  justly 
have  substituted  another  in  his  room, 
he  still  condescends  to  eijnploy  him, 
and  though  he  divides  the  office,  and 
joins  Aaron  in  commission  with  him, 
he  endows  his  reluctant  emissary  with 
the  highest  dignity.  While  Aaron  was 
to  sup])ly  by  his  native  ready  utterance, 
the  deficiency  of  Moses  in  this  respect, 
the  latter  was  to  convey  to  liis  brother, 
as  from  God  himself,  the  instructions 
and  directions  whicli  should  from  time 

to  time  be  given  him. IT  /  will  be 

with  thy  mouth,  and  with  his  mouth 


62 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491 


16  And  he  sliall  be  tliy  spokesman 
unto  the  people  :  and  he  shall  be, 
(vrn  he  shall  be  to  thee  instead  of 
a  HK)Uth,  and  v  thou  shalt  be  to  him 
instead  (ir(u)d. 

17  And  thou  shalt  take  qthis  rod 
in  thy  hand,  wherewith  thou  shalt 
do  sij,ais. 

pch.  7.  1.  «fc  18.  19.    q  ver.  2. 

Chal.  'My  Word  shall  be  with  thy 
mouth  and  with  his  mouth.'  Gr.  '  I 
will  open  thy  moutli  and  his  mouth.' 
Even  Aaron  himself,  however  eloquent, 
could  not  sj)cak  to  the  purpose  unless 
God  was  with  his  mouth.  The  pos- 
session of  the  best  gifts  does  not  super- 
sede the  necessity  of  divine  assistance. 

16.  He  shall  be  to  thee  instead  of  a 
mouth,  and  thou  shalt  be  to  him  instead 
of  God.  Chal. '  He  shall  speak  for  thee 
•with  the  people,  and  shall  be  thine  in- 
terpreter, and  thou  shalt  be  as  a  prince 
(Z")  rab)  unto  liim.'  Jerus.  Targ. '  Thou 
shalt  be  to  him  a  master  inquiring  doc- 
trine from  before  tlie  Lord.'  Gr.  and 
Vulg.  Thou  slialt  be  to  him  in  things 
pertaining  to  God  ;'  the  very  phrase 
which  Paul  employs,  Hcb.  5.  1,  'For 
every  high  priest  taken  from  among 
men,  is  ordained  for  men  in  things  fjcr- 
taining  to  God.'  How  strikingly  does 
this  illustrate  the  Apostle's  declaration 
that  'the  gifts  and  callings  of  God  are 
without  repentance.'  We  see  a  per- 
severing beneficence  towards  Moses, 
that  fills  us  with  amazement.  When 
we  should  rather  expect  that  the  fire 
wliicli  liad  spared  the  bush  would  con- 
sume the  recusant,  we  behold  a  con- 
tinued lriunij)li  of  mercy  over  judgment. 

17.  Thou  shalt  take  this  rod  in  thine 
hand.  Gr. '  This  rod  which  was  turned 
into  a  .ser])ent,  shalt  thou  take,'  &c. 
Tlie  end  of  his  mission  was  to  be  ac- 
comidished  rather  by  acting  than  by 
speaking,  and  he  is  commanded  to  take 
with  him  his  shepherd's  rod,  not  only 
as  an  instrument  for  working  wonders, 
and  an  ensign  of  authority,  but  also  as 


IS  H  And  Moses  went,  and  re- 
lumed to  Jethro  his  fatlier-in-law, 
and  said  unto  him,  Let  me  go, 
I  pray  thee,  and  return  unto  my 
brethren  which  are  in  Egypt,  and 
see  whether  they  be  yet  alive. 
And  Jethro  said  to  Moses,  Go  in 
peace. 


a  memento  of  the  mean  condition  out 
of  which  he  had  been  called,  and  as 
a  means  of  pouring  deeper  contempt 
upon  the  state  and  pomp  of  Pharaoh. 
In  like  manner  on  a  subsequent  occa- 
sion the  simple  sling  of  David  was  made 
to  put  to  shame  the  ponderous  armor  of 
Goliath.  Tlae  more  humble  the  guise  in 
w^hich  we  go  against  the  enemies  of  God, 
the  more  signal  the  glory  of  their  defeat. 
18.  Moses  went  and  returned  to  Jethro. 
Heb.  "in^  ^^  el  Yether,  to  Jcther  ;  but 
in  the  close  of  the  verse  '  Jethro,'  as 
usual.  Thus  the  person  who  in  Nehem. 
6. 12,  is  called '  Geshem,'  is  in  v.  6,  called 
'  Gashmu.'  Moses  was  prompted  by  a 
sense  of  justice  and  decency  to  acquaint 
his  father-in-law  with  his  intention  to 
leave  Midian  and  go  into  Egypt  ;  but 
he  saw  fit  to  conceal  from  Jethro  the 
errand  upon  which  God  had  sent  him, 
lest  he  should  endeavor  to  hinder  or 
discourage  him  from  so  difiicult  and 
dangerous  an  enterprise.  In  this  con- 
duct the  piety  and  prudence  of  Moses 
are  equally  conspicuous  with  his  mod- 
esty and  humility.  He  determines  to 
guard  against  all  tem])lations  to  dis- 
obedience, and  at  the  same  time  not  to 
indulge  in  a  vain-glorious  ostentation 
of  the  high  honor  conferred  upon  him. 
This  part  of  Moses'  conduct  is  a  strik- 
ing proof  that  the  privilege  of  being  ad- 
mitted to  near  communion  with  God 
will  never  generate  a  contemptuous  dis- 
regard for  those  whom  we  are  bound  in 

the  relations  of  life  to  honor. tT  Go 

in  peace.  Gr.  '  Go  prospering  ;'  an  in- 
vocation of  general  welfare.  See  Note 
on  Gen.  29,  6.-37.  4. 


B.  C.  1-^91 


CHAPTER  IV. 


63 


19  And  ihe  Lord  snid  unto  Moses 
in  Midiau,  Go,  return  into  E^rypt : 
for  rail  the  men  are  dead  which 
sought  thy  life. 

rch.2.  15,  23.     Matt.  2.  20. 

19.  And  the  Lord  said.  Aben  Ezra 
says,  and  we  think  with  great  proba- 
bility, that  this  should  be  rendered  in 
the  pluperfect  tense,  '  The  Lord  had 
said ;  i.  e.  on  some  other  occasion  not 
particularly  specified.  He  observes 
moreover  that  as  a  general  rule  events 
are  not  recorded  by  the  sacred  writers 
in  the  exact  order  in  which  they  occur- 
red.  IT    The  men    are   dead   which 

sought  thy  life.  Heb.  y^^':  nsi  tl">rpn?D 
mebakshim  eth  naphsheka,  which  (were) 
seeking  thy  soul.  On  the  sens^  of  the 
word  '  soul,'  see  Note  on  Gen.  2,  7. 
Chal. '  Which  sought  to  kill  thee.'  The 
phrase,  ^  to  seek  the  soul'  is  sometimes 
used  in  a  good  sense,  as  Ps.  142,  4. 
(Heb.)  'No  man  sought  my  soul;' 
(Eng.)  '  No  man  cared  for  my  soul ;' 
yet  it  usually  signifies  seeking  with 
a  murderous  intent,  thus  explained  1 
Kings,  19,  10.  '  And  they  seek  my  life 
(soul)  to  take  it  away.''  This  declara- 
tion would  remove  a  fear  which  it  was 
natural  that  Moses  should  feel,  though 
we  do  not  learn  that  he  expressed  it. 
A  grand  obstacle  would  meet  him  on 
the  very  threshold,  should  the  blood 
formerly  shed  by  him  be  required  at  his 
hand.  God  therefore  allays  all  his 
fears  on  this  head  by  assuring  him  that 
no  avengers  of  that  deed  were  now  alive 
to  trouble  him.  It  is  prol)able  that  the 
information  thus  conveyed  to  him  was 
important  to  be  given  to  Jethro  in  order 
to  obtain  his  consent  to  his  son-in-law's 
departure.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  sup- 
posed that  he  would  have  bestowed  his 
daughter  upon  a  wandering  stranger 
without  being  made  acquainted  with 
the  leading  events  of  his  previous  his- 
tory ;  nor  after  his  being  an  inmate  of 
his  house  for  forty  years,  would  he  be 


20  And  Moses  took  liis  wife,  and 
his  sons,  and  set  thcni  upon  an  ass, 
and  he  returned  to  the  land  of 
Eflfvpt.  And  Moses  took  ^the  rod 
of  God  in  his  hand. 

sch.  17.9.    Numb.  20.  8,  9. 


willing  to  see  him  and  his  daughter 
rush  into  danger  without  some  prospect 
of  escape.  His  scruples  would  be  of 
course  removed  by  the  assurance  of 
a  heavenly  call,  accompanied  by  the 
promise  of  a  happy  issue. 

20.  Moses  took  his  U'ife  and  his  sons, 
&c.  Thus  clearly  intimating  the  pur- 
pose of  a  final  departure  from  Midian, 
and  of  a  permanent  settlement  in  Eg^-^jt. 
The  single  ass  for  his  family  shows  an 
humble  equipment  for  a  messenger  of 

God,    but    the    Gr.  has    ra   VTrn^uyin,  the 

beasts  of  burden,  and  the  Hebrew  usage 
in  this  particular  as  illustrated  in  the 
Note  on  Gen.  24,  10,  will  show  that  we 
are  not  necessarily  shut  up  to  the  pre- 
cise letter  of  the  narrative.  This  is 
confirmed  by  the  following  extract  from 
the  '  Pict.  Hist,  of  Palestine,'  page  184. 
'  The  original  narrative  speaks  but  of 
one  ass,  '  set  them  upon  an  ass ;'  but, 
as  it  seems  preposterous  to  suppose  that 
there  was  but  one  ass  for  them  all,  it  is 
likely  that,  as  often  happens,  tlie  sin- 
gular is  here  put  for  the  plural ;  and 
that  the  meaning  is,  '  he  set  every  one 
of  them  upon  an  ass.'  We  do  not  re- 
collect any  modern  instance  of  asses 
being  employed  in  a  journey  across  this 
desert,  whereas  the  present  is  far  from 
being  the  only  ancient  instance.  In  fact, 
there  seem  to  have  been,  in  very  ancient 
times,  greater  facilities  for  travel  across 
this  desert  than  at  present.  Perhaps 
it  was  not  so  desolate  as  now ;  al- 
though even  now  we  believe  that  dur- 
ing the  winter  and  early  spring  it  might 
be  crossed  on  asses.  Then  there  senm 
also  to  have  been  caravanserais  in  dis- 
tricts  where  no  one  now  expects  to  find 
sucli  a  convenience  ;  and  that  the  way 
across  this  and  other  deserts  was  com- 


04 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


21  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Wlicn  lliou  goest  to  return  into 
Ejjypt,  see  that  tliuu  do  all  those 

wonders  before  Pliaraoh  which  I 


t  ch.  3.  20. 


,iaralivcly  safe  appears  from  numerous 
instances,  such  as  the  journeys  of  the 
patriarchs  to  Egypt,  those  of  Ehezer 
and  Jacob  to  Mesopotomia,  and  this  of 
Moses  to  Egyjit  from  the  eastern  gulf, 
willi  his  wife  and  two  children.  Indeed, 
if  there  were  no  attendants  with  this 
party,  it  would  seem  that  the  wife  of 
Moses  returned  to  Midian  with  her  two 
sons,  unaccompanied  by  any  man.  We 
hink  it  very  possible,  however,  that 
there  may  have  been  attendants,  al- 
thougli  the  Scriptural  narrative  has  no 
intimation  to  that  effect.  However, 
the  absence  of  any  acts  of  robbery,  or 
of  the  fear  of  any  such  acts,  from  those 
who  crossed  the  deserts  in  all  the  early 
Hebrew  history,  is  a  remarkable  cir- 
cumstance when  we  consider  the  acts  of 
constant  violence  upon  travellers  which 
now  take  place,  and  the  strong  apjuehen- 
sions  witli  which  a  journey  across  any 
of  the  Arabian  or  SjTian  deserts  is  now 

regarded.' IT  Returned  to  the  land 

of  Egypt.  That  is,  took  up  his  jour- 
ney ioicards  the  land   of  Egypt.     See 

Note  on  Gen.  22,  3. IF  Took  the  rod 

of  God  in  his  hand.  Chal.  '  The  rod 
by  which  miracles  were  to  be  wrought.' 
This  staff  is  called  '  the  rod  of  God,' 
partly  because  it  was  appropriated  to 
God's  special  service  to  be  the  instru- 
ment of  all  his  glorious  works  ;  and 
partly  to  show  that  whatever  was  done 
by  it  was  not  effected  by  any  intrinsic 
virtue  in  the  rod  itself  or  in  the  hand 
of  Moses  which  wielded  it,  but  solely 
by  tlie  power  of  God,  who  was  pleased, 
for  the  greater  confusion  of  his  enemies, 
to  employ  so  mean  an  instrument.  It 
would  seem  that  there  was  a  designed 
though  latent  antithesis  between  the 
Bonrness  of  his  equipage  and  tlie  dig- 
nity conferred  upon  him  by  the  myric 


have  put  in  t>iine  hand :  but  u  1 
will  harden  his  heart,  that  he  shall 
not  let  the  people  go. 

•1  ch.  7.  3,  13.  &  9.  12,  35.  &  10.  1.  &  14.  8. 
Deut.  2.  30.  Josh.  11.20.  Isai.  03.  17.  John 
12.  40.     Rorn.  9.  18. 

rod  which  he  bore  in  his  hand.  The 
outward  eye,  as  he  passed  along,  beheld 
only  an  humble  wayfarer  cbd  in  coarse 
habiliments,  and  slowly  moving  by  the 
side  of  the  beasts,  loaded  with  the  bur- 
den of  his  wife  and  children,  but  in  the 
simple  staff  that  sup})orted  his  steps 
slept  the  hidden  virtue  of  Omnipotence 
itself!  It  had  but  to  be  waved  in  the 
air  and  the  salubrious  Nile  run  a  river 
of  blood,  and  hail  and  pestilence  and 
lightning  and  thunders  waited  upon  its 
movements  !  What  sceptre  of  roj^alty 
ever  invested  its  possessor  with  such  a 
grandeur  ! 

21.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
&c.  Moses  has  not  as  yet  given  an 
exact  recital  of  the  various  miracles 
which  he  was  commanded  to  work,  but 
from  the  language  o^  his  verse  we  can- 
not doubt  that  all  tl  successive  prodi- 
gies of  power  of  which  we  read  in 
the  sequel  had  been  previously  enjoin- 
ed, and  the  process  of  the  whole  affair 
accurately  made  known.  This  was  in 
order  to  prepare  him  for  the  issue,  lest 
upon  a  first  and  second  abortive  attempt 
he  should  despair  of  moving  the  mind 
of  Pharaoh,  and  renounce  his  rod  and 
his  calling  together.  Here  therefore 
God  exhorts  him  to  hold  on  in  per- 
severing constancy  and  not  desist  from 
his  work  till  every  item  of  the  divine 
injunctions  had  been  complied  with. 
Let  him  not  suppose  that  his  failure  in 
the  first  instance  to  gain  his  point  would 
be  owing  simply  to  an  evil  accident; 
nor  let  him  deem  that  a  puny  mortal 
could  safely  treat  miraculous  agency  as 
a  mockery.  On  the  contrary,  he  was 
to  carry  with  him  the  assurance  that 
whatever  was  the  immediate  result, 
however  adverse  it  might  seem  to  the 
delive"ance  of  his  people,  the  hand  of 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  IV. 


C5 


God  was  in  it  all,  for  the  stout  heart 
of  the  king  was  to  he  brought  ^\o^\n^.  by 
repeated  blows,  and  the  whole  train  of 
events  so  ordered  that  he  should  be 
magnificently  triumphed  over.  This 
is  indicated  still  more  plainly  in  what 

follows. IT  Which  I  have  put  in  thine 

hand.  Which  I  have  put  in  thy  power  ; 
which  I  have  enabled  and  authorized 

thee  to  perform  before  him. IT  I  will 

harden  his  heart.  Heb.  12'^  iTii*  pTHti 
ehazzik  eth  libbo,  I  U'ill  strengthen  his 
heart.  Thus  the  Most  High  })recludes 
the  possibility  of  ascribing  the  result  to 
any  thing  unforeseen  or  fortuitous  ;  or 
of  supposing  that  he  could  not,  if  he 
pleased,  have  curbed  the  tj'rant's  arro- 
gance and  brought  him  to  submit  in  a 
moment.  Pharaoh  will  not  hold  out  in 
rebellion  because  he  could  not  be  sub- 
dued, but  because  infinite  wisdom  had 
great  ends  to  accomplish  in  suffering 
him  to  prolong  his  obstinacy.  But  as 
the  language  here  employed  is  liable  to 
be  wrested  widely  from  its  legitimate 
meaning,  it  will  be  necessary  to  weigh 
it  with  more  than  ordinary  precision. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  Heb. 
text  in  speaking  of  the  '  hardening'  of 
Pharaoh's  heart,  employs  in  differcut 
parts  of  the  narrative  three  distinct 
words  differing  from  each  other  by  a 
marked  diversity  of  import,  but  which 
are  all  indiscriminately  rendered  in  the 
common  version  by  '  harden.'  These 
are  pTn  hazak,  to  strengthen,  con- 
firm; "I~lD  kabad,to  make  heavy;  and 
tllDp  kashah,  to  make  hard,  in  the 
sense  of  difficult,  intractable,  rigid  or 
stiff.  The  whole  number  of  passages 
in  which  Pharaoh's  heart  is  said  to  have 
been  '■  hardened'  is  nineteen,  in  thirteen 
of  which  the  term  employed  is  '  hazak  ,-' 
in  five,  '  kahad  ;'  and  in  one  'kashah.' 
The  passage  before  us  belongs  to  tlie 
former  tlass  ;  '  I  will  harden  (pTni< 
ehazz'ik)  his  heart;'  i.e.  I  will  make 
strong,  firm,  determined.  The  original 
properly  signifies  to  brace  or  tighten  up, 
in  opposition  to  a  state  of  relaxation, 
6* 


remission,  yielding.  Thus  Is.  35,  3, 
'  Strengthen  ye  the  weak  hanas  and  con- 
firm  tlie  feeble  knees.'  In  its  legitimate 
import  it  is  applied  rather  to  the  vigor- 
ous tension  of  a  man's  courage  or  reso- 
lution tlian  to  the  obduration  of  the 
moral  sensibilities.  Its  prevailing  sense 
may  be  gathered  from  the  following 
passages  :  Jer.  23.  14, '  They  strengthen 
also  the  hands  of  evil-doers,  that  none 
doth  return  from  his  wickedness  ;'  i.  e. 
they  make  them  more  determined. 
Judg.  9,  24,  '  And  upon  the  men  of 
Shechem  which  aided  him  in  the  kill- 
ing of  his  brethren.  Heb.  '  which 
strengthened  him;'  i.e.  instigated  him. 
Is.  41.  7,  '  So  the  carpenter  encouraged 
the  goldsmith  ;'  i.  e.  urged  on.  2  Chron. 
26.  8,  'And  his  name  spread  abroad, 
for  he  strengthened  himself  exceeding- 
ly ;'  i.  e.  he  acted  with  great  vigor, 
conquering  all  obstacles  by  the  energy 
of  his  character.  When  God  therefore 
is  represented  as  saying,  '  I  will  harden 
(strengthen)  Pharoah's  heart,'  the  lan- 
guage implies  simply,  that  the  course 
of  events  should  be  so  ordered  that, 
without  any  positive  divine  influence 
exerted  upon  him,  the  haughty  king 
should  take  occasion  to  confirm  himself 
in  his  disregard  of  the  counsels  of  the 
Most  High,  and  instead  of  being  bowed 
and  humbled  by  the  displays  of  Omni- 
potence should  array  himself  in  a  pos- 
ture of  more  determined  resistance  to 
the  manflate  of  Jehovah.  This  God  is 
said  to  have  done  because  he  permitted 
it  to  be  done.  A  similar  instance  is  re- 
lated in  Dcut.2.  30,  '  But  Sihon  king  of 
Heshbon  would  not  let  us  pass  by  him : 
for  the  Lord  thy  God  hardened  his 
spirit,  and  made  his  heart  obstinate, 
that  he  might  deliver  hiin  into  thy 
hand,  as  appeareth  this  day.'  So  also 
Josh.  11.  20,  '  For  it  was  of  the  Lord  to 
harden  their  hearts  that  they  should 
come  against  Israel  in  battle,  that  he 
might  destroy  them  utterly.'  Yet  in  the 
present  instance  it  is  expressly  said, 
ch.  9.  34,  that  Pharaoh   hardened  his 


66 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  149J 


22  And  thou  shall  say  unto  Pha- 
raoh, Thus  saith  the  Lord,  ^  Israel 
ts  my  son,  y  even  my  first-born. 

23  And  I  say  unio  thee,  Let  my 
son  go,  that  he  may  serve  me:  and  if 

xllos.  11.  1.  Rom.  9.  4.  2  Cor.6.  IS.  y  Jer. 
31.  9.     James  1.  18. 


oiim  heart ;  and  the  exhortation  of  the 
Psalmist  is,  Ps.95.8,  '  Harden  not  your 
hca7-ts,  as  in  the  provocation,'  as  though 
it  were  a  voluntary  act  in  those  in  whom 
it  takes  place  with  which  God  could 
be  by  no  means  chargeable.  The  ex- 
pression involves  no  difficulty  provided 
the  ordinary  usus  loquendi  be  borne  in 
mind. 

22.  Israel  is  my  son,  even  my  first- 
born. That  is,  beloved  and  favored  be- 
yond other  nations  ;  dear  to  me  as  a 
first-born  child.  Thus  Hos.  11.1,'  When 
Israel  was  a  child,  then  I  loved  him 
and  called  my  son  out  of  Egypt.'  '  Is- 
rael' is  here  a  collective  denomination 
for  all  the  natural  seed  of  Jacob,  who 
are  called  God's  '  son'  as  a  title  of  favor, 
and  his  '  first-born'  as  a  note  of  honor- 
able relationship,  pointing  to  their  pre- 
eminence above  all  other  nations.  For 
as  the  first-born  in  a  family  was  conse- 
cratfHl  to  God  as  his  peculiar  purtion, 
so  were  the  children  of  Israel  adopted 
from  among  the  nations  as  a  peculiar 
treasure  above  all  people,  Ex.  19.  5, 
from  whom  was  appointed  to  descend, 
according  to  the  flesh,  the  Messiah, 
'  the  first-born  of  every  creature.'  The 
epithet  '  first-born'  is  at  once  a  term  of 
dignity  and  of  endearment.  Thus  Ps. 
89.  26,  27,  '  He  shall  cry  unto  me,  Thou 
art  my  Father,  my  God,  the  Rock  of 
my  salvation.  Also  I  will  make  him 
my  first-horn,  higher  than  the  king's  of 
tho  earth.'  Tliis  is  a  mutual  recog- 
nition of  the  privileges  of  adoption. 

IT  Let  my  son  go.  He  is  my  son,  not 
yours  ;  he  comes  under  allegiance  to 
another  lord  ;  you  are  not  to  claim  or 
exercise  jurisdiction  over  him. 

23.  And  I  say  unto  thee,  Let  mv  son 


thou  refuse  to  let  him  go,  behold,  ^  I 
will  slay  thy  son,  eve7i  thy  first-bom. 
24  1[  And  it  came  to  pass  by  the 
way  in  the  iiin,  that  the  Lord  a  met 
him,  and  sought  to  ^kill  him. 

zch.  11.5.  &  12.  29.  a  Numb.  22.  22.  b  Gen. 
17.14. 

go,  &c.  These,  it  would  seem,  were 
the  words  not  of  Moses,  but  of  God 
speaking  through  the  person  of  Moses. 
Such,  at  least,  is  the  usual  and  more 
obvious  interpretation ;  yet  there  is  a 
remarkable  apparent  change  of  persons 
in  passing  from  the  22d  to  the  23d  verse, 
and  if  it  were  possible  to  conceive  of  the 
words  being  spoken  at  the  same  time 
to  Moses  himself  on  the  principle  an- 
nounced, Is.  8.  18,  'Behold,  I  and  the 
children  whom  the  Lord  hath  given  me 
are  for  signs  and  for  wonders  in  Israel,' 
it  Avould  seem  to  afford  an  easier  expli- 
cation of  the  remarkable  incident  men- 
tioned in  the  two  next  verses,  which 
comes  in  a  manner  so  abrupt  and  almost 
unaccountable  in  this  connexion.  It 
would  certainly  tend  to  inspire  Moses 
with  a  deeper  impression  of  the  fearful 
consequences  of  Pharaoh's  refusing 
compliance  with  the  divine  mandate, 
had  he  himself  barely  escaped  the  loss 
of  his  ov.Ti  son  by  reason  of  his  neglect 
to  fulfil  an  express  injunction  of  heaven. 
May  it  not  then  be  supposed  that  there 
is  involved  in  the  address  to  Pharaoh 
an  intimation  also  to  Moses  himself  of 
danger  to  his  first-born,  if  he  neglected 
longer  to  circumcise  him,  and  put  him 
into  that  condition  in  which  he  could 
acceptably  serve  the  God  of  his  fathers  ? 
By  circumcising  his  son  he  would  put 
him  virtually  into  the  same  relation  to 
God  as  the  nation  of  Israel  would  be  in 
when  '  let  go'  by  Pharaoh  from  their 
bondage,  and  brought  to  worship  and 
serve  him  in  the  wilderness. 

24.  It  came  to  pass  by  the  way  in  the 
inn.  Heb.  "^I^Jiln  baminalon,  in  the 
lodging-place.  For  the  true  import  of 
this  expression  see  Note  on  Gen.  42.  27. 


B.  C.  1531.] 


CHAPTER  IV. 


67 


It  would  appear  that  tliey  had  not  yet 
reached  the  place  of  their  final  desti- 
nation, though  they  may  have  entered 
within  the  bounds  of  Egypt.     Comp.  v. 

20. IT  The  Lord  met  him.     That  is, 

met  him  in  the  tokens  of  displeasure. 
Gr.  and  Chal. '  The  angel  of  the  Lord 
met  him.'  It  is  undoubtedly  clear  from 
many  passages  of  the  sacred  narrative, 
that  the  term  '  Lord'  (Jehovah)  is  sy- 
nonymous with  the  '  angel  of  the  Lord,' 
and  that  '  angel  of  the  Lord'  is  used  to 
denote  the  supernatural  manifestation 
of  the  Deity  by  means  of  some  visible  or 

sensible  symbol. IT    Sought  to  kill 

him.  That  is,  made  a  show  of  intend- 
ing to  kill  him ;  manifested  alarming 
signs  of  wrath,  probably  by  visiting 
him  with  some  threatening  disease. 
Language  like  this  must  of  course  be 
understood  in  consistency  with  what 
we  know  of  the  divine  attributes.  He 
in  whose  hands  our  breath  is  has  no 
occasion  to  seek  to  take  away  the  life 
of  any  of  his  creatures.  The  being 
wliich  he  originated  he  can  at  any  in- 
stant extinguish.  The  phrase  is  doubt- 
less advisedly  chosen  to  indicate  a  de- 
lay, a  respite,  on  the  part  of  the  Most 
High,  as  if  he  were  reluctant  to  enter 
upon  the  work  of  judgment.  But  who 
is  to  be  understood  by  the  pronoun  '  him' 
in  this  connexion?  Was  it  Moses  him- 
self or  his  first-born  son,  who  was  the 
subject  of  the  menacing  judgment  ?  The 
Arabic  version  of  Saadias  has  '  he  rush- 
ed upon  his  son,'  and  as,  according  to 
the  view  suggested  above,  the  first-born 
of  Moses  was  the  subject  last  spoken 
of,  we  see  no  objection  to  consider  that 
as  the  true  construction.  At  the  same 
time,  it  may  be  properly  said  that  Mo- 
ses himself  was  put  in  peril  in  the  per- 
son of  his  son.  See  Note  on  Gen.  9.  25. 
The  probability  we  think  is,  that  there 
was  some  criminal  delay  in  Moses  in 
respect  both  to  this  rite  and  to  the  pro- 
secution of  his  mission,  and  that  it 
pleased  God,  in  accordance  with  his 
conditional   denunciation   above    men- 


tioned, V.  23,  to  visit  his  son  with  some 
alarming  sickness  which  threatened  to 
prove  fatal.  In  the  note  on  Ex.  2.  22, 
we  adverted  to  the  very  great  improba- 
bility of  Moses  being  the  father  of  a 
very  young  child  at  the  time  when  he 
set  out  for  Egypt,  which  was  forty  years 
after  he  first  entered  Midian.  How 
much  more  improbable  is  it  that  his 
eldest  son  was  now  an  infant  or  a  little 
child?  We  cannot  but  infer  from  the 
narrative,  ch.  2. 15 — 22,  that  Moses  mar- 
ried shortly  after  entering  the  family 
of  Jethro,  and  that  the  birth  of  his  first- 
born occurred  in  all  probability  within 
the  usual  period  of  such  an  event.  If 
so,  and  if  his  circumcision  had  been  de- 
ferred to  the  present  time,  instead  of 
being  now  an  infant  or  a  child,  he  must 
have  been  a  full  grown  man  of  upwards 
of  thirty  years  of  age.  And  if  this  be 
admitted  we  can  see  an  ample  reason 
for  the  divine  displeasure  manifested 
on  this  occasion.  It  was  not  a  delay  of 
a  few  months,  but  of  many  years,  that 
elicited  such  tokens  of  judgment ;  and 
if  it  be  asked  why  this  expression  of 
anger  was  reserved  to  the  present  time  ; 
why  it  vented  itself  rather  at  this  par- 
ticular juncture  than  at  any  other,  we 
can  only  suggest  in  reply  that  it  was 
with  a  view  to  give  it  a  typical  or  sym- 
bolical import  ;  to  bring  it  into  con- 
nexion with  the  threatening  against 
Pharaoh,  in  order  that  Moses  might 
have  a  more  impressive  sense  of  the 
danger  of  disobeying  the  commands  of 
Heaven.  There  would  seem,  at  any 
rate,  to  be  some  link  of  connexior#  be- 
tween this  incident  and  the  previous  ad- 
dress to  Moses,  V.  22,  23,  and  if  any 
other  can  be  suggested  more  probable, 
we  have  no  interest  in  adhering  to  our 
proposed  interpretation,  although  it  is 
one  that  does  not,  that  we  perceive,  offer 
any  violence  to  the  text.  The  reader 
who  refers  to  Rosenmuller's  Comment- 
ary will  see  that  it  has  long  been  doubt- 
ed to  whom  to  refer  the  pronouns  rela- 
tive. 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1401 


25  Then  Zipporah  took  <=  a  sharp  ! 
stone,  and  cut  off  the  foreskin  of  her  j 


c  Josli.5.  2,  3. 


25.  Then  Zipporah  took  a  sharp  stone,  \ 
&c.  That  is,  a  knife  made  of  a  stone  \ 
sharpened.  That  such  instruments  were 
in  use  at  this  early  period,  may  be  in- 
ferred from  Josh.  5.  2,  '  The  Lord  said 
unto  Joshua,  make  thee  sharp  knives, 
(Heb. 'knives  of  stones')  and  circum- 
cise again  the  children  of  Israel ;'  where 
the  Chal.  has  '  sharp  razors  ;'  and  the 
Gr.  '  stone  knives.'  Thus  Herodotus, 
describing  the  preparations  for  embalm- 
ing a  dead  body,  saj-s,  '  they  cut  around 
the  hips  with  a  sharp  Ethiopic  stoneJ — 
'  Flints  and  other  hard  stones  formed 
the  tools  and  cutting  instruments  of  al- 
most all  nations  before  the  art  of  work- 
ing iron  was  discovered.  We  find  such 
instruments  still  in  use  among  savages, 
and  discover  them  occasionally  buried 
in  different  parts  of  Europe  and  Asia, 
showing  the  universality  of  their  use 
when  the  people  were  ignorant  of  iron. 
They  were  no  doubt  formed,  as  savages 
form  them  at  present  ;  that  is,  they 
were  shaped  and  sharijened  on  a  kind 
of  grindstone,  until,  at  a  great  expense 
of  time,  labor,  and  patience,  they  were 
brought  to  the  desired  figure.  They 
were  then  fitted  to  a  handle,  and  used 
nearly  in  the  same  way  as  we  use  our 
instruments  and  tools  of  iron.  From 
the  act  of  Zipporah,  we  are,  however, 
not  authorized  to  infer  that  instruments 
and  tools  of  metal  were  not  common  at 
the  time  and  in  the  neighborhood  be- 
fore us.  We  shall  soon  have  occasion 
to  see  the  contrary.  The  fact  seems 
to  be,  that  Zipporah  knew  that  sharp 
stones  were  exclusively  used  in  Egypt 
and  elsewhere,  in  making  incisions  on 
the  human  person ;  and  she  therefore 
either  used  such  an  instrument,  or  em- 
ployed in  its  room  one  of  the  flints  with 
which  the  region  they  were  traversing 
is  abundantly  strewed.'  Pict.  Bible. 
As  the  danger  apprehended  was  imme- 


son,  and  cast  it  at  his  feet,  and  said, 
Surely  a  bloody  husband  art  thou 
to  me. 

diately  averted  upon  the  circumcision 
of  their  son,  it  is  plain  that  the  delay  of 
this  ordinance  was  its  procuring  cause, 
although  we  are  not  informed  whether 
the  parents  learned  this  from  an  ex- 
press revelation,  or  from  the  course  of 
their  own  reflections.  There  is  doubt- 
less something  abhorrent  to  our  ideas 
of  propriety  in  the  mother's  perfoniuDg 
this  rite  upon  an  adult  son,  but  against 
this  we  must  set  the  whole  strength  of 
the  evidence  that  he  was  adult,  that  he 
was  the  first-born,  and  also  the  fact 
that  it  was  a  mother  complying  with  a 
divine  requisition,  and  that  among  a 
people  and  in  a  state  of  society  whose 
sentiments  and  usages  were  verj'-  differ- 
ent from  ours. IT  Cast  it  at  his  feet. 

Heb.  I'l^^*!^  5>nri1  vattigga  leraglauv, 
made  it  to  touch  his  feet.  Chal. '  Brought 
it  near  before  him.'  Gr.  '  She  fell  at 
his  feet.'  Jerus.  Targ.  '  She  laid  it  at 
the  feet  xaf  the  destroyer.'  The  clause 
is  difficult  of  explication.  By  the  mass 
of  commentators,  Zipporah  is  supposed 
to  have  cast  the  prepuce,  or  circum- 
cised foreskin,  of  her  son,  besmeared 
with  blood,  at  the  feet  of  Moses,  and  in 
a  reproachful  and  angry  manner  to  have 
addressed  him  in  the  words  immedi- 
ately following.  Others,  however,  with 
perhaps  equal  plausibility,  suppose  it 
to  mean,  that  she  made  it  to  touch  his 
feet,  or  rather  his  legs,  in  the  act  of 
cutting,  for  the  original  term  is  by  no 
means  that  which  is  ordinarily  employ- 
ed to  signify  casting  or  throwing  down. 
The  true  interpretation  is  doubtless  to 
be   determined  by  the   ensuing  words, 

IT  Surely  a  bloody  husband  art  thou 

to  me.  Heb.  'i^  nt155  ^^J2l  pH  hathan 
damim  attah  li,  a  spouse,  or  bridegroom, 
of  bloods  art  thou  to  me.  Here  again  the 
interpreter  finds  himself  encompassed 
with  difficulties.  The  question  that  al- 
most defies  solution  is,  whether  these 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  IV. 


0^ 


20  So  he  let  him  go:  then  she 
faid,  A  bloody  husband  thou  art, 
because  of  the  circumcision. 


words  are  to  be  considered  as  addressed 
to  JNIoses  or  to  her  sou.  By  those  who 
adopt  the  common  construction,  and 
suppose  Moses  himself  to  have  been 
the  person  endangered,  and  the  child 
an  infant,  Zipporah  is  understood  as 
virtually  saying  ;  *  Behold  t\e  evidence 
of  my  intense  affection  towards  thee. 
I  have  jeoparded  the  life  of  my  babe  as 
the  ransom  for  thine.  In  order  to  free 
thee  from  danger,  and,  as  it  were,  to 
espouse  thee  to  mj^self  anew,  to  make 
thee  once  more  a  bridegroom,  I  have 
not  slimmed  to  shed  the  blood  of  this 
dear  cliild,  even  under  perilous  circum- 
stances, when  the  hardships  of  the  jour- 
ney may  render  the  operation  fatal.' 
But  a  far  preferable  construction,  in  our 
opinion,  is  to  consider  the  words  as  ad- 
dressed to  the  son,  now  growii  up,  from 
his  being  espoused,  as  it  were,  to  God 
by  tl\g^  seal  of  circumcision.  Aben  Ezra 
remarks,  '  It  is  the  custom  of  women 
to  call  a  son  when  he  is  circumcised  a 
spouse  C^nn  hathan).'  Kimchi  in  his 
Lexicon,  under  "^TiTl  concurs  in  the  same 
view,  which  is  also  adopted  by  Schind- 
ler,  Spencer,  Mede,  and  others.  The 
idea  that  Zipporah  intended  to  upbraid 
her  husband  with  the  cruelty  of  the  rite 
which  his  religion  required  him  to  per- 
form, seems  hardly  tenable  ;  for  as  she 
was  a  Midianitess,  and  so  a  daughter 
of  Abraham  by  Keturah,  it  is  not  easy 
to  imagine  her  altogether  a  stranger  to 
the  ceremony  of  circumcision,  Avhich 
had  been  from  the  earliest  ages  perpet- 
uated in  all  the  branches  of  the  Abra- 
hamic  race,  and  is  even  observed  by  the 
followers  of  Mohammed  at  the  present 
day,  not  as  an  institution  of  the  prophet 
limself,  but  as  an  ancient  rite  received 
'''om  Ishmael. 

26.  So  he  let  him  go.  Heb.  T.'Z^  ^^^ 
^reph  mimmcnu,  he  slackened  from 
Sm.    That  is,  God  desisted  from  the 


27  II  And  the  Lord  said  to  Aaron, 
Go  into  the  Avilderness  ^  to  meet 


further  effects  of  his  displeasure.  The 
signs  of  his  anger  ceased  when  the  oc- 
casion ceased.  Jerus.  Targ. '  The  Des- 
troyer let  him  go.'  The  phrase  is  taken 
from  the  act  of  relaxing  a  vigorous 
grasp.  The  original  term  is  similarly 
applied,  I  Chron.  21.  15,  'And  he  said 
unto  the  angel  that  destroyed,  It  is 
enough  stay  (!r)"in  hereph,  relax,  remit) 
now  thine  hand.'  So  also  Josh.  10.  6, 
'  And  the  men  of  Gibeon  sent  unto 
Joshua  to  the  camp  to  Gilgal,  saying, 
slack  (JTj'nn  hereph)  not  thine  hand  from 
thy  servants,  &c.'  Notwithstanding  all 
the  obscurity  that  envelopes  the  trans- 
action here  recorded,  we  learn  from  it, 

(1)  That  God  takes  notice  of  and  is 
much  displeased  with  the  sins  of  his 
own  people,  and  that  the  putting  away 
of  their  sins  is  indispensablj^  necessary 
to  the  removal  of  the  divine  judgments. 

(2)  That  no  circumstances  of  prudence 
or  conveniency  can  ever  with  propriety 
be  urged  as  an  excuse  for  neglecting  a 
clearly  commanded  duty,  especially  the 
observance  of  sacramental  ordinances. 

(3)  That  he  who  is  to  be  the  interpreter 
of  the  law  to  others  ought  in  all  points 
to  be  blameless,  and  in  all  things  con- 
formed to  the  law  himself  (4)  That 
when  God  has  procured  the  proper  re- 
spect to  his  revealed  will,  the  contro- 
versy between  him  apd  the  offender  is 
at  an  end  ;  the  object  of  his  government 
being  not  so  much  to  avenge  himself  as 
to  amend  the  criminal. — From  Ex.  IS.  2, 
it  would  seem  that  Zipporah  and  her 
sons  were  sent  back  to  his  fatlier-in-law, 
where  they  remained  till  Jethro  brought 
them  to  Moses  in  the  wilderness. 

27.  The  Lord  said  unto  Aaron,  &c. 
The  scene  of  domestic  danger  and  dis- 
tress described  above  is  speedily  fol- 
lowed by  another  of  a  pleasanter  kind, 
viz.,  the  interview  between  the  two 
brothers  in  the  wilderness.  The  present 


70 


EXODUS. 


B.  C.  1491. 


Moses.  And  he  Avenl,  and  met  liim 
in  e  the  mount  of  God,  and  kissed 
him. 

28  And  Moses  ^told  Aaron  all  llie 
words  of  the  Loud  who  had  sent 

ech.  3.  1.     fver.  15,  16. 

phrase  however  should  rather  be  ren- 
dered *  The  Lord  had  said,'  for  the  com- 
mand had  no  doubt  reached  him  some 
lime  previous,  as  Moses  was  yet  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  sacred  mount  where 
the  vision  appeared.  Ahhough  the  com- 
mand is  recited  in  tlie  most  general 
terms,  *  Go  into  the  wilderness,*  yet  we 
cannot  doubt  that  detailed  directions  as 
to  the  particular  place  where  he  should 
meet  liis  brother  accompanied  it.—' — 
IT  He  went  and  met  him  in  the  mount 
of  God.  That  is,  in  or  at  Iloreb,  called 
the  '  Mount  of  God'  for  the  reasons 
stated  in  the  Note  on  Ex.  3.  1.  Chal. 
'  In  the  mount  where  the  Glory  of  the 
Lord  had  been  revealed.'  Aaron  was 
now  eighty-three  years  of  age,  though 
we  are  wholly  unacquainted  with  his 
previous  history.  We  have  every  reason 
to  believe,  however,  from  the  fact  that 
God  selected  him  as  the  companion  of 
Moses  in  so  arduous  an  enterprise,  and 
from  his  subsequent  conduct  and  station, 
that  his  character  was  one  of  no  ordinary 
stamp.  While  residing  in  Egypt  he  had 
been  making  progress  in  knowledge,  in 
moral  worth,  and  in  influence  among  his 
countrj-men.  Like  his  brother,  he  had 
been  maturing  for  the   great  work   in 

which  he  was  now  to  engage.' T[  And 

kissed  him.  In  remarking  upon  the  in- 
terview between  Joseph  and  Jacob,  Gen. 
46.29,  we  observed  that  the  plirasc  '  he 
fell  on  his  neck'  might  be  understood 
of  both  ;  and  in  like  manner  we  cannot 
question  but  that  tlie  embrace  of  Moses 
and  Aaron  was  mutual.  Accordingly 
the  Gr.  renders  it,  '  They  kissed  each 
other.' 

28.  And  ^Toses  told  Aaron  oil  the 
words,  &c.  To  Moses  it  must  have 
been  highly  gratifying,  after  a  sojourn 


him,  and  all  the  g  signs  which  he 
had  commanded  him. 

29  %  And  Moses  and  Aaron  i>  went, 
and  gatliercd  together  all  the  elders 
of  the  children  of  Israel. 

S  ver.  8,  9.     h  ch.  3.  16. 


of  forty  years  among  strangers,  to  meet 
his  own  brother,  to  receive  from  him 
the  welcome  tidings  of  his  family  and 
nation,  and  to  impart  to  his  friendly  ear 
the  story  of  his  owti  life  during  so  long 
an  interval.  On  the  other  hand,  what 
pleasure  must  it  have  atTorded  to  Aaron, 
to  learn  from  the  mouth  of  his  brother 
the  great  designs  of  providence  respect- 
ing themselves  and  their  people  ?  With 
what  overflowings  of  heart  would  they 
join  in  a  fraternal  embrace  and  mingle 
their  sighs  and  tears?  With  what  ardor 
would  their  united  prayers  and  vows 
and  praises  ascend  to  heaven  ?  How 
confirmed  the  faith,  how  forward  the 
zeal  of  each,  strengthened  and  stimu- 
lated by  that  of  the  other?  Well  may 
they  go  on  their  way  rejoicing.  They  are 
following  God,  and  they  must  prosper. 

29.  Moses  and  Aaron  irent  and  gath- 
ered together.  We  do  not  learn  that  any 
doubt  or  hesitancy  v/as  evinced  on  the 
part  of  Aaron.  Convinced  by  the  in- 
timations he  had  himself  received,  and 
by  the  scene  of  wonders  which  Moses 
had  related  to  him,  he  is  ready  to  go 
with  his  brother  on  their  momentous  er- 
rand, and  as  if  to  indicate  the  alacrity 
with  which  they  now  proceeded  for- 
ward, passing  in  silence  over  all  the 
intermediate  details  of  their  journey, 
we  all  at  once  find  them  in  the  midst 
of  their  countrymen.  Before  this,  how- 
ever, possibly  before  the  meeting  of  the 
two  brothers  at  Horeb,  Moses  had  di- 
rected his  w^ife  and  sons  to  return  to  his 
father-in-Ia^v  Jethro.  He  doubtless  had 
good  reasons  for  this  step,  though  we 
are  left  in  ignorance  what  they  were. 
At  what  time  and  under  what  circum- 
stances they  met  again,  we  shall  see  in 
a  subsequent  part  of  the  history. 


R  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  rV. 


71 


30  i  And  Aaron  spake  all  the  words 
which  the  Lord  had  spoken  unto 
Moses,  and  did  the  signs  m  the 
sight  of  the  people. 

31  And  the  people  k  believed :  and 

1  ver.  16.     k  rh.  3.  18.  ver.  S,  9. 


30.  And  Aaron  spake,  &c.  Having 
assembled  the  ciders  Aaron  begins,  ac- 
cording to  the  divine  appointment,  v. 
16,  to  act  as  '  spokesman'  in  delivering 
llie  message,  while  Moses  at  the  same 
time,  in  the  discharge  o( his  appropriate 
office,  performs  the  miraculous  signs 
which  were  to  be  a  seal  of  his  com- 
mission. There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  rendering  of  our  version,  Avhich 
ascribes  the  working  of  the  signs  to 
Aaron  is  erroneous.  The  pronoun  '  he' 
•should  be  inserted  before  '  did  the  signs,' 
to  indicate  that  Moses  and  not  Aaron 
is  the  true  subject  of  the  verb.     Comp. 

V.  21. IT  In  the  sight  of  the  people. 

As  nothing  has  been  hitherto  said  of 
the  '  people,'  but  only  of  the  '  elders,' 
we  must  either  understand  this  of  the 
elders  alone,  called  ■'  people'  in  virtue 
of  their  representative  character,  or  else 
we  must  suppose  that  a  considerable 
body  of  the  people,  such  as  could  be 
conveniently  assembled,  w^ere  present 
with  the  elders  who  acted  in  their 
name.  The  same  remark  is  to  be  made 
respecting  the  term  '  people'  in  the  next 
verse.  The  former  is  perhaps  the  most 
probable  interpretation,  not  only  be- 
cause that  mode  of  speech  is  common, 
but  because  the  act  of  solemn  worship 
that  ensued  appears  to  have  taken  place 
in  a  meeting ;  and  if  so,  it  must  have 
been  a  meeting  of  a  select  number,  and 
not  of  the  whole  nation,  who  cannot  be 
supposed  to  have  been  convened  on  the 
occasion.  The  result  was  such  as  God 
had  foretold,  Ex.  3.  18.  The  return  of 
Moses  after  his  long  exile,  in  company 
with  his  brother  whom  they  well  knew 
and  highly  esteemed  ;  the  cheering  na- 
ture of  the  message  addressed  to  them 
i;i  the  name  of  the  great  I  am  ;  the  con- 


when  they  heard  that  the  LoPvD  had 
1  visited  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
that  he  •«  had  looked  upon  their  af- 
fliction, then  n  they  bowed  their 
heads  and  worshipped. 

1  ch.  3.  16.     ni  ch.  2.  26.  &  3.  7.     n  Gen.  24. 
26.  ch.  12.  27.     1  Ctiion.  29.  20. 


vincing  demonstrations  of  the  divine 
power  in  the  miracles  which  they  had 
witnessed  ;  all  cons])ired  to  produce  in 
their  breasts  the  deepest  emotions  of 
wonder  and  joy  ;  a  strong  confidence  in 
God  ;  and  an  assurance  that  he  was  in- 
deed about  to  show  them  mercy.  In 
testimony  of  this,  and  as  a  solemn  act 
of  reverential  gratitude,  the  whole  as- 
sembly bowed  their  heads  and  worship- 
ped. They  accounted  it  not  sufficient 
merely  to  ponder  in  their  hearts  these 
signal  tokens  of  the  divine  interposi- 
tion in  their  behalf,  but  were  prompted 
to  give  expression  to  their  feelings  by 
appropriate  outward  signs.  Such  ex- 
ternal acts  of  reverence  are  indeed  of 
comparatively  little  account  in  the  eyes 
of  him  Vv'ho  weighs  the  spirits,  but  as 
they  are  helps  to  our  infirmities,  and  go 
to  show  more  fully  the  entirencss  of 
our  devotion  to  our  heavenly  benefactor, 
they  are  always  acceptable  in  his  sight 
when  springing  from  the  proper  motive. 

If    And  when    they  heard.     Heb. 

l5/2w'^1  va-yishme-u,  and  they  heard. 
Gr.   Kui  eTTKTTEvnav  0  \a)i  Kai  e^aprjy   and 

the  people  believed  and  rejoiced,  that 
the  Lord,  &c.  That  an  import  analog- 
ous to  this,  viz.,  that  of  a  joyful  hear- 
ing,  is  conveyed  by  the  original  term 
would  appear  from  2  Kings,  20.  13, 
*  And  Hezekiah  hearkened  unto  them,' 
which  in  the  parallel  passage,  Is.  39.  2, 
is  rendered,  '  And  Hezekiah  was  glad  of 
them.'  We  have  before  had  occasion  to 
remark  that  verbs  of  the  senses  frequent- 
ly im])ly  the  exercise  of  the  affections. 
See  Note  on  Gen. 21.  17. — M  Had  visited. 
Had  visited  in  mercy.  See  Note  on  Gen. 
21.1.  Chal. 'Had  remembered.'— IT  LooA-. 
ed  upon  the  affliction.  Compassionate- 
ly  regarded.     See  Note  on  Ex.  2.  11. 


72 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  U'A. 


CHAPTER  V. 

AND  afU'rwani  Moses  and  Aaron 
wt'Ul  in,and  told  Tliaraoh,  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  Let 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  present  cliapttr  ushers  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  controversy  between  God 
and  Pharaoh,  and  its  tearful  issue  in 
the  utter  destruction  of  the  daring  rebel 
who  had  presumed  to  set  himself  in  ar- 
ray against  Ins  Maker.  While  the  inci- 
dents mentioned  in  the  close  of  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  were  transpiring,  Pha- 
raoh was  sitting  proudly  and  securely 
on  his  throne,  surrounded  by  his  obedi- 
ent subjects,  and  wholly  ignorant  of  the 
portentous  movement  which  was  tak- 
ing place  in  the  midst  of  the  wretched 
bondsmen  to  whom  he  was  wringing 
out  the  waters  of  a  full  cup  of  affliction. 
He  had  heard,  indeed,  of  Moses  and  his 
singular  history.  He  had  been  told  of 
his  living  so  long  at  the  court  of  his 
predecessor,  as  the  adopted  son  of  the 
daughter  of  the  king  ;  of  his  high  char- 
acter and  attainments,  and  his  great  in- 
fluence among  his  countrymen  ;  of  his 
strange  abandonment  of  his  conspicuous 
station,  and  of  the  circumstances  which 
led  to  his  flight  from  Egypt.  But  if  he 
were  still  living,  he  supposed  him  to  be 
an  insignificant  exile  in  some  foreign 
land  from  which  he  would  never  dare 
again  to  return.  Little  did  he  think 
that  this  outcast  Israelite  was  now  so 
near  him,  having  come  in  the  strength 
of  Omnipotence  to  rescue  the  oppressed 
from  his  grasj)  and  to  overwlielm  him 
and  his  host  in  utter  destruction. 

1.  Moses  and  Aaron  went  in  and  told 
Pharaoh,  &c.  They  were  doubtless  ac- 
companied on  this  occasion  by  a  num- 
ber of  the  elders  of  Israel,  to  give  more 
weight  and  solemnity  to  the  demand. 

Comp.  Ex.  3.  18. IT  Thus  saith  the 

Lord  God  of  Israel.  Moses  in  addressing 
the  elders  of  Israel  is  directed  to  call 
God  '  the  God  of  their  fathers  ;'  but  in 
addressing  Pharoah  the  title  employed 


my  people  go,  that  they  may  hold 
a  a  least  unto  me  in  the  wilder- 
ness. 

a  ch.  10.  9. 

is, '  the  God  of  Israel,'  and  this  is  the 
first  time  the  title  occurs  in  that  con- 
nexion in  the  Scriptures.  He  is  indeed 
in  Gen.  33.  20,  called  '  the  God  of  Is- 
rael,'  the  person,  bat  here  it  is  Israel, 
the  people.  Though  now  a  poor,  afllict^ 
ed,  and  despised  people,  yet  '  God  is 
not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God.' 
As  such  he  commands  Pharaoh  to  let 
them  go.  Whatever  claim  their  op- 
pressor had  set  up  to  their  persons  or 
services,  it  was  a  dowTiright  and  daring 
usurpation  which  God,  their  rightful 
Lord  and  Sovereign,  would  not  tolerate 
for  a  moment.  Here  therefore  he  moves 
towards  their  deliverance,  and  may  be 
considered  as  virtually  saying  in  the 
language  of  the  prophet.  Is.  52.  5,  6, 
'  Now  therefore,  w^hat  have  I  here,  saith 
the  Lord,  that  my  people  is  taken  away 
for  nought?  they  that  rule  over  them 
make  them  to  howl,  saith  the  Lord. 
Therefore  my  people  shall  know  my 
name  :  therefore  they  shall  know  in 
that  day  that  I  am  he  that  doth  speak : 

behold  it  is  I.' IT   That  they  may 

hold  a  feast  unto  me.  Heb.  I^H''  yaho- 
gu.  The  primar)^  import  of  the  original 
word  n^n  hagag  is  to  dance,  rendered, 
Ps.  107.  27,  '  reel  too  and  fro,'  probably 
from  the  fact  that  the  staggering  motion 
of  men  in  a  ship,  tossed  by  a  tempest, 
resembled  that  of  dancers.  In  a  second- 
ary sense,  it  is  a]iplied  to  keeping  a 
feast  religiously,  which  was  marked  by 
eating,  drinking,  dancing,  and  mirth. 
The  term  is  here,  therefore,  used  sjTiec- 
dochally  for  all  the  attendant  ceremo- 
nies of  a  sacred  festival,  in  which  wor- 
ship and  sacrifice  were  prominent ;  for 
wliich  reason  the  phrase  is  rendered  by 
the  Chal.  '  that  they  may  sacrifice  be- 
fore  me.' IT  In  the  wilderness.  A  re- 
tired place  was  rendered  proper  from 
the  peculiar  religious  usages  of  the  Ho- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  V. 


73 


2  And  Pharaoh  said,  ^  Who  is  the 
Lord,  that  I  should  obey  his  voice 
to  let  Israel  ^o?  I  know  not  the 
Lord,  cneillier  will  I  let  Israel  go. 

3  And  they  said,  J  The  God  of  the 

b  2  Kin^s  18.  35.  Job  21.  15.  «  ch.  3. 19. 
A  ch.  3. 18. 


brews,  which  were  different  from  those 
practised  or  allowed  among  the  Egyp- 
tians. 

2.  JITio  is  the  Lordj  &c.  Rather, 
'  Who  is  Jehovah  ? — I  know  not  Jeho- 
vah.' There  is  a  special  reason  why 
this  title  should  here  be  rendered,  ver- 
batim, 'Jehovah,'  rather  thaii  'Lord,' 
viz.  that  it  is  mentioned  as  the  peculiar 
name  of  the  God  of  Israel,  whereas  the 
title  '  Lord,'  was  common  to  the  hea- 
then deities,  many  of  them  being  called 
^  Baalim,'  or  '  Lords.'  This  makes  Pha- 
raoh's answer  more  emphatic,  *  Who  is 
Jehovah  ?' — a  name  of  which  he  had 
never  before  heard.  Chal.  '  The  name 
of  Jehovah  is  not  revealed  to  me,  that  I 
should  obey  his  word.'  Targ.  Jon.  '  I 
have  not  found  in  the  book  of  the  angels 
(gods)  the  name  of  Jehovah  written  :  I 
fear  him  not.'  The  reply  of  Pharaoh 
is,  upon  the  best  construction,  marked 
by  a  tone  of  insolence  and  contempt  for 
which  we  can  find  no  excuse.  Yet  it 
would  perhaps  be  unjust  to  charge  upon 
him  an  intentional  act  of  impiety,  for 
he  was  no  doubt  a  worshipper  of  the 
gods  of  Egypt.  But  he  would  intimate 
that  he  considered  Moses  and  Aaron  as 
the  setters-forth  of  a  strange  god,  whose 
claims  he  would  not  deign  to  admit. 
That  the  poor  outcast  slaves,  who  ex- 
isted by  his  surferance,  and  labored  for 
his  pleasure,  should  have  a  God  of  such 
authority  as  to  prescribe  laws  for  him, 
was  not  to  be  endured.  It  is  as  if  he 
had  said, '  Who  is  this  unheard-of  deity 
that  you  call  '  Lord  ?'  What  greater 
or  better  is  he  than  my  gods  ?  What 
have  I  to  do  with  him?  Vv'hy  shoidd  I 
care  for  him?  He  is  not  the  God  wliom 
I  serve  ?'      From  the  degraded  and  de- 

VoL.  I  7 


Hebrews  hath  met  with  us :  let  us 
go,  we  pray  thee,  three  days'  jour- 
ney into  the  desert,  and  sacritice  un- 
to the  Lord  our  G  od  ;  lest  he  fall 
upon  us  Avith  pestilence,  or  with  the 
sword. 


spised  character  of  the  people  of  Israel, 
he  no  doubt  formed  his  estimate  of  the 
God  whom  they  professed  to  serve,  and 
concluded  that  hr'  was  no  more  entitled 
to  reverence  as  a  deity,  than  they  were 

to  respect  as  a  people. IT   That  I 

should  obey  his  voice.  Heb.  I^pn  S^^TTJ^ 
eshma  bekolo,  should  hearken  to  his 
voice.     See  Note  on  Gen.  16.  3. 

3.  The  God  of  the  Hehreu-s  hath  met 
U'ith  us.  Heb.  13">^5>  i<1p^  nikraalcnu, 
lit.  is  called  upon  us,  i.  e.  is  invoked 
and  worshipped  by  us.  And  according- 
ly the  Chal.  has, '  The  God  of  the  Jews 
is  invoked  upon  us.'  But  the  other  ver- 
sions vary.  Gr. '  The  God  of  the  He- 
brews hath  called  us.'  Syi-. '  The  God 
of  the  Hebrews  has  appeared  unto  us.' 
Arab.  '  The  command  of  the  God  of  the 
Hebrews  is  come  unto  us.'  It  is  on  the 
whole  most  probable  that  i^'lp!]  nikra, 
is  used  by  change  of  letters  for  Jl'^pS 
nikrah,  hath  met,  the  very  phrase  which 

occurs  Ex.  3.  IS. IT  Let  us  go  three 

days^  journey,  &c.  Instead  of  reproach- 
ing Pharaoh,  or  threatening  him  with 
the  judgments  of  lioaven,  they  adopt  a 
style  of  humble  and  respectful  entreaty, 
'  We  pray  thee  ;'  at  the  same  time 
representing  that  the  journey  they  pro- 
posed was  not  a  project  formed  among 
themselves,  but  a  measure  enjoined 
upon  them  by  the  God  of  their  nation, 
and  one  which  they  dared  not  decline. 
In  saying  this  it  is  true  they  dissem- 
ble the  design  of  forsaking  Egypt  alto- 
gether, perhaps  with  a  view  to  learn 
from  the  manner  in  which  he  treated  a 
smaller  request,  what  prospect  of  suc- 
cess they  would  have  in  urging  a  great- 
er. In  this  they  stated  no  falsehood, 
but   merely  concealed   a   part   of  the 


74 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1941. 


4  And  tlic  king  ofEfi^ypl  said  unto 
tlieui,  WlicTclore  do  ye,  .Moses  and 
Aaron,  let  tlie  people  from  their 


truth. — As  to  the  moral  character  of 
this  part  of  their  conduct  see  Note  on 

Gen.  12.  13. If  Lest  he  fall  upon  vs 

with  pestilence,  &c.    Heb.  '^'ZIZ  badde- 

ber.      Gr.  ^ri  nore   avi'nvTr}<rti    rjinu  Oavarog 

7)  tpovoi;,  lest  death  or  slaughter  meet  us. 
The  original  word  for  '  pestilence'  is 
here,  as  in  numerous  cases  elsewhere, 
rendered  in  the  Gr.  by  Oavaroi  death. 
Thus  Levit.  26.  25,  '  I  will  send  the 
pestilence  among  you.'  Gr. '  the  death.'' 
Deut.  2S.  21,  <  The  Lord  shall  make  the 
pestilence  cleave  unto  thee.'  Gr. '  the 
death. ^  Ezek.  33.  27,  '  They  that  be  in 
the  forts  and  in  the  caves  shall  die  of 
\.\\G  pestilence.''  Gr.  of  Uhe  death.'  This 
usage,  a  parallel  to  which  occurs  in  the 
Chaldee  paraphrase,  is  transferred  to 
the  New  Testament,  and  is  of  great 
importance  to  the  right  understanding 
of  the  following  passages  ;  Rev.  2.  23, 
'  I  will  kill  her  children  with  death  ;' 
1.  e.  with  pestilence,  by  which  is  some- 
times meant  any  kind  of  premature  or 
violent  death  ;  death  out  of  the  common 
course  of  nature.  Rev.  6.  8, '  And  power 
was  given  unto  them  over  the  fourth 
part  of  the  earth  to  kill  with  the  sword, 
and  with  hunger  (famine),  and  with 
death  (i.  e.  pestilence),  and  wdth  the 
beasts  of  the  earth.'  So  also,  probably, 
Rev.  21.  4, '  And  God  shall  wipe  away 
all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  death  ;'  i.  e.  violent 
death  ;  death  occasioned  by  sudden  and 
fatal  casualties  or  judgments  ■  for  that 
this  portion  of  Scripture  does  not  de- 
scribe a  state  of  happiness  in  which  its 
subjects  shall  be  absolutely  immortal 
may  be  gathered  from  the  language  of 
Isaiah,  ch.  65.  19,  20,  referring  to  the 
same  future  period  ;  '  And  the  voice  of 
weeping  shall  be  no  more  heard  in  her, 
nor  the  voice  of  crying.  There  shall 
be  no  more  thence  an  infant  of  daj's, 
nor  an  old  man  that  hath  not  filled  his 


works  ?   get  you  unlo  your  e  bur- 
dens. 

ech.  1. 11. 


days  ;  for  the  child  shall  die  an  hundred 
years  old  ;  but  the  sinner  being  an  hun- 
dred years  old,  shall  be  accursed.' — 
This  intimation  of  danger  to  themselves 
in  case  of  their  neglecting  to  comply 
with  the  divine  injunction,  would  ad- 
minister a  seasonable  hint  to  Pharaoh. 
For  if  he  were  a  God  so  jealous  of  his 
honor  as  to  punish  his  own  people  for 
such  a  delinquency,  even  when  they 
were  forcibly  prevented  from  obeying, 
how  much  reason  had  he  to  fear  the 
visitations  of  his  wrath,  if  he  openly 
bade  him  defiance  ?  It  was  evidently 
no  very  great  thing  for  Pharaoh  to  have 
yielded,  had  he  complied  with  the  re- 
quest of  Moses  and  Aaron.  Consider- 
ing the  benefits  he  liad  derived  from  the 
labors  of  the  Israelites,  he  might  well 
have  allowed  them  this  short  respite 
for  a  religious  service.  But  when  men's 
pride  and  passions  are  roused,  reason 
and  humanity  might  as  well  make  their 
plea  to  the  deaf  adder  as  to  them. 

4.  Wherefore  do  ye  let  the  people 
from  their  works  1  That  is,  why  do 
ye  hinder,  or,  literally,  cause  to  desist. 
Gr.  ivan  6iaarpe^£T£  tov  Xuci/,  wherefore 
do  ye  divert,  or  turn  away,  the  people 
from  their  works?  It  will  be  observed 
that  Pharaoh  takes  no  notice  of  Avhat 
Moses  and  Aaron  had  said  to  him  re- 
specting the  liberation  of  the  people, 
but  treats  them  merely  as  the  disturbers 
of  the  peace  of  his  kingdom,  and  as  en- 
deavoring to  excite  sedition  among  his 
subjects.  The  same  thing  was  laid  to 
the  charge  of  Christ  and  the  apostles ; 
Luke,  23.  2,  '  And  they  began  to  accuse 
him,  saying.  We  found  this  fellow  per- 
verting  the  nation,  and  forbidding  to 
give  tribute  to  Caesar.'  Acts,  24.  5, 
'  For  we  have  found  this  man  a  pesti- 
lent fellow  and  a  mover  of  sedition 
among  all  the  Jews  throughout  the 
world.' IT  Get  you  unto  your  bur- 


B.  C.  1491.J 


CHAPTER  V. 


75 


5  And  Pharaoh  said,  Behold,  the 
people  of  the  hmd  now  arc  'many, 
and  ye  make  ihem  rest  from  their 
burdens. 

6  And  Pharaoh  commanded  the 
same    day    the    g  taskmasters    of 

fch.  1.  7,  9.    ffc.h.  1.11. 


dens,  &c.  This  command  was  probably 
designed  more  expressly  for  the  elders 
who  had  accompanied  Moses  and  Aaron, 
though  he  would  perhaps  intimate  at 
the  same  lime  that  if  the  brothers  were 
where  they  ought  to  be,  they  would  be 
bearing  their  part  of  the  burdens. 

5.  The  people  of  the  land  7ww  arc 
many,  &c.  As  if  he  should  say,  'If  the 
people  are  already  increased  to  such 
a  multitude,  notwithstanding  all  the 
methods  taken  to  prevent  it,  how  much 
more  numerous  and  formidable  will 
they  soon  become  if  suflered  to  cease 
from  their  labor.'  Vulg.  '  You  see 
that  the  multitude  is  increased  ;  how 
much  more,  if  you  give  them  rest  from 
their  works?'  Or,  the  number  of  the  peo- 
ple may  be  alluded  to  in  order  to  hint  at 
the  greatness  of  the  damage  done  to  the 
state  by  the  interruption  of  the  labors 
of  so  large  a  body  of  men.  Some  of  the 
Jewish  commentators  give  it  still  a  dif- 
ferent shade  of  meaning,  viz.  that  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  keep  so  great 
a  multitude  busily  employed,  lest  they 
should  engage  in  plots  of  insurrection. 

6.  The  task-masters  of  the  people  and 
their  officers.  These  '  task-masters/ 
lit.  'exactors,'  constituting  the  highest 
grade  of  oflicers,  were  Egyptians  ap- 
pointed to  exact  labor  of  the  Israelites. 
But  those  termed  'officers,'  appear,  v. 
14 — 16,  to  have  been  Israelites  set  over 
their  brethren.  The  latter  term  is  ren- 
dered in  the  Gr.  'Scribes,'  i.  e.  probably 
men  who  executed  written  decrees,  or 
rendered  written  accounts  of  their  offi- 
cial services,  answering  with  consider- 
able exactn'^ss  to  our  modern  'sheriffs.' 
It  is,  however,  certain  that  they  were 
under-officers  to  the  task-masters. 


the  people,  and  their  officers,  say- 
ing, ^ 

7  Ye  shall  no  more  give  the  peo- 
ple straw  to  make  brick,  as  here- 
tofore :  let  them  go  and  gather 
straw  for  themselves. 


7.  Yc  shall  no  more  give  the  people 
straiv,  &c.  Commentators  have  doubted 
for  what  particular  ])urpose  straw  was 
made  use  of  by  the  f^gyptians  in  making 
brick,  some  supposing  it  to  be  employed 
for  fuel  in  burning  the  brick,  and  others 
that  it  was  cut  or  chopt  fine  and  mixed 
with  the  clay  to  give  more  consistency 
and  firmness  to  the  brick  when  taken 
from  the  kiln.  The  probal)ility  is  that 
it  was  used  for  both  purposes.  The  Gr. 
term  ax^vpov,  by  which  the  Heb.  "VZi) 
is  here  renderedj  signifying  properly 
st7-aw  instead  of  chaff,  occurs  in  Mat. 
3.  12.  'He  will  gather  his  wheat  into 
the  garner;  but  he  will  burn  up  the 
chaff  (straw)  with  imquenchable  fire  ;' 
intimating  that  when  the  wheat  was 
separated,  the  straw  was  of  no  farther 
use,  except  as  fuel  for  fires.  Kypke,  in 
his  note  on  this  passage,  has  the  follow- 
ing observation:  'TlieJews  and  other 
nations  burnt  straw  and  stubble,  instead 
of  wood,  in  cooking  their  meats,  in 
heating  their  furnaces,  and  in  other 
uses:'  for  which  he  cites  the  Symposi- 
acks  of  Plutarch ;  '  Those  who  melt 
gold  work  it  by  a  fire  kindled  with 
straw.^  The  same  thing  is  to  be  infer- 
red from  the  words  of  Christ,  Mat.  6. 
30,  '  Wherefore  if  God  so  clothe  the 
grass  of  the  field  which  to-day  is,  and 
to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he 
not  much  more,'  &c.  On  which  Gro- 
tius  quotes  the  words  of  Ulpian  the  Ro- 
man lawyer  in  a  definition  of  fuel ;  'In 
some  regions,  as  for  instance  in  Egypt, 
where  reeds  and  the  papyrus  plant  are 
burnt  for  fuel,  tlie  common  appellation 
'  wood'  includes  certain  specif^s  of  herbs 
and  thorns  and  otiier  vegetables.  This 
is  accounted  for  from  the  fact,  that  in 


76 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


8  And  the  t;ilc  of  ihe  bricks  which 
tliey  did  make  lieretoibrc,  ye  shall 
lay  upon  llieni  ;  ye  shall  not  di- 
mmish rtj/;'///  thereof;  for  they  be 
idle;    therefore  they   cry,  saying, 

most  of  the  eastern  countries  wood  is 
so  extremely  scarce,  that  various  spe- 
cies of  dried  vegetables,  grass,  straw, 
flowers,  and  furze,  constitute  their  prin- 
cipal articles  of  fuel.  But  that  straw, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  used  in  the  com- 
position of  brick  in  Egypt,  is  evident 
from  the  reports  of  modern  travellers. 
Thus  Dr.  Shaw,  speaking  of  the  bricks 
found  in  one  of  the  Egyptian  pyramids, 
says,  '  The  composition  is  only  a  mix- 
lure  of  clay,  mud,  and  straw,  slightly 
blended  and  kneaded  together.'  Baum- 
garten,  another  traveller,  speaking  of 
Cairo  in  Egyi)t,  saj-s,  <The  houses  for 
the  most  jiart  are  of  brick  mixt  with 
straiv  to  make  them  firm.  Sir  John 
Chardin  tells  us,  '  That  eastern  bricks 
are  made  of  clay,  well  moistened  with 
water,  and  mixed  with  straw,  which, 
according  to  their  way  of  getting  the 
grain  out  of  the  ear,  is  cut  into  small 
pieces  by  a  machine  which  they  make 
use  of  instead  of  a  flail  for  thrashing.' 

IT   As  heretofore.     Literally,   'As 

yesterday  and  the  third  day.'  See  Note 
on  Gen.  31.2.  Hitherto  those  who  la- 
bored in  the  brick-fields  had  been  fur- 
nished all  the  materials  for  their  work, 
not  only  the  clay  of  which  the  bricks 
were  made,  but  the  straw  with  which 
they  were  compacted.  But  the  present 
order  was  a  great  grievance,  as  much 
of  the  time  which  should  have  been  em- 
ployed in  making  the  bricks  was  now 
consumed  in  seeking  for  straw.  And 
this  burden  must  have  become  more 
heavy  every  day,  in  proportion  as  the 
straw  thus  himted  up  became  scarce  in 
the  neigliborhood  of  the  brick-fields. 
But  in  all  this  the  lot  of  the  Israelites 
seems  intended  to  illustrate  a  frequent 
law  of  providence,  viz.,  that  the  burden 
of  affliction  presses  the  heavier,   the 


Let  us  go  and  sacrifice  to  our  God. 
9  Let  there  more  work  be  laid 
upon  the  men,  that  they  may  labour 
therein :  and  let  them  not  regard 
vain  words. 

nearer  the  approach  of  deliverance.  Ilis 
peo])le  are  not  prepared  for  the  destined 
relief  till  their  cup  of  woe  is  full,  and 
all  help  is  entirely  despaired  of  except 
from  heaven. 

8.  The  tale  of  the  bricJvi,  &e.  That 
is,  the  number,  the  amount  of  the  bricks. 
This  was  the  very  refinement  of  cruelty 
to  require  the  end  and   yet  deny  the 

means. IT  For  they  be  idle.  A  charge 

than  which  nothing  could  be  more  un- 
reasonable or  imtrue.  The  cities  they 
built  for  Pharaoh,  and  ^he  other  fruits 
of  tlieir  labors,  were  witnesses  for  them 
that  they  were  not  idle,  though  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  many  of  these  public 
works  were  so  intrinsically  useles.s,  like 
the  pyramids,  that  it  was  little  better 
than  idleness  to  be  employed  about 
them  ;  yet  diligently  employed  they 
certainly  were,  and  he  thus  basely  mis- 
represents them,  that  he  might  have  a 
pretence  for  increasing  their  burdens. 

9.  Let  there  more  work  be  laid  upon 
the  men.  Heb.  mn5>n  "in^n  tikbad 
ha-abodah,  let  the  irork  be  heavy  upon 
the  men  ;  which  if  they  performed  they 
would  be  broken  down  by  it,  while  if 
they  failed  to  perform  it,  they  would  be 
punished.  So  fearful  is  the  alternative 
which  iron-hearted  oppression  leaves  to 

its   poor  victims  ! If    Let  them  not 

regard  vain  words.  Heb.  *lp'0  "^IDT 
dibr'c  shaker,  words  of  lying.  Vanity 
axid  falsehood,  according  to  the  HebrcAV 
idiom,  are  often  used  interchangeably 
for  each  other.  See  Note  on  Ex.  20.  7. 
If  the  phrase  is  to  be  understood  in  the 
sense  given  it  by  our  translation,  it  is 
a  directly  impious  and  slanderous  im- 
putation upon  the  words  of  God,  as 
vain,  empty,  and  delusive.  But  as  the 
original  for  '  words,'  is  often  equivalent 
to  '  things,'  (See  Note  on  Gen.  15. 1.), 


B.  C.  1491.J 


CHAPTER  V. 


77 


10  H  And  the  taskmasters  of  the  |  12  vSo  the  people  were  scattered 
people  went  out,  and  their  officers, '  abroad  throughout  all  tlie  laud  of 
and  they  spake  to  the  people,  say- 1  Egypt,  to  gather  stubble  instead  of 
ing,  Thus  saith  Pharaoh,  I  will  not  j  straw. 

give  you  straAv.  13  And  the  taskmasters  hasted 

11  Go  ye,  get  you  straw  where  '  them,  saying,  Fultil  your  works, 
ye  can  And  it:  yet  not  aught  of  your  daily  tasks,  as  when  there 
your  work  shall  "be  dimuiished.         was  straw. 


the  import  may  be  that  they  were  not 
to  indulge  themselves  in  vain  hopes, 
dreams,  and  aspirations.  The  Heb. 
term  for  regard  (n^UJ  shaah)  when 
used  in  the  sense  of  having  respect  to  a 
person  or  thing  is  usually  followed  by 
P5<  el,  ^5>  alj  or  ^  Z  signifying  to,  as 
Gen.  4.  4,  '  And  God  had  respect  unto 
Abel  (xn  ^H  T::"'']  va-yisha  el  Hebel) 
and  to  his  offering.'  But  when  con- 
structed with  the  preposition  j  b,  in, 
as  here,  it  signifies  rather  to  meditate 
or  to  ponder  orally  upon  any  thing,  as 

Ps.  119. 117,  Ti?2n  "i^pnn  wrt^T  ve- 

eshabehukkeka  tamid,  and  I  irill  medi- 
tate in  thy  statutes  continually.  Ac- 
cordingly the  Gr.  renders  the  present 
passage,  '  Let  them  care  for  these 
words,  and  let  them  not  care  for  vain 
words.'  Chal.  '  Let  them  be  occupied 
in  it  (the  work),  and  let  them  not  be 
occupied  in  idle  words.'  Syr.  '  Let 
them  think  upon  it  (the  work),  and  not 
think  upon  vain  words.'  Arab.  '  Let 
them  be  occupied  in  it,  and  not  occupy 
themselves  in  vain  things.'  The  sense 
undoubtedly  is,  that  they  were  to  give 
themselves  unremittingly  to  their  work, 
and  not  to  cherish  any  vain,  wild,  il- 
lusory hopes,  whether  the  product  of 
their  own  minds,  or  suggested  to  them 
by  others. 

10.  I  u'ill  not  give  you  straw.  I  will 
not  allow  it  to  be  given.  The  task- 
masters v^ere  probably  Egyptians,  while 
the  officers  were  native  Israelites.  The 
message  would  be  as  grievous  to  the 
one  as  it  probably  was  acceptable  to 
the  other. 

12.  So  the  people  were  scattered  abroad . 
This  dispersion,  however,  would  at  least 
7* 


have  the  effect  to  make  Pharaoh's  bar- 
I  barous  usage  of  liis  bondmen  exten- 
1  sively  known,  and  perhaps  to  cause 
1  them  to  be  pitied  and  somewhat  aided 

I  by  their  compassionate  neighbors. 

I  IT  To  gather  stubble  instead  of  straw. 
'  We  are  so  much  in  the  habit  of  asso- 
I  ciating  the  making  of  bricks  with  burn- 
!  ing,  that  the  common  reader  fails  to 
discover  that  the  straw  could  be  for  any 
;  other  use  than  to  burn  the  bricks.  With- 
out disputing  that  the  Egyptians  did 
sometimes  burn  their  bricks,  the  evi- 
dence of  ancient  remains  in  their  coun- 
try and  the  existing  customs  of  the 
East  leave  little  room  to  doubt  that  the 
use  of  the  straw  was  to  mix  with  and 
compact  the  mass  of  clay  used  in  mak- 
ing sun-dried  bricks,  such  as  we  have  no- 
ticed in  the  notes  on  Babylon  and  on  the 
pyramids.  Bncks  of  this  sort  are  still 
commonly  made  in  Egypt  ;  and  their 
ancient  use  in  the  same  country  is 
evinced  by  the  brick  pyramids  at  Da- 
shoor  and  Faioum.  That  they  were 
never  in  the  fire  is  shouTi  by  the  fact 
that  the  straw  wliich  enters  into  their 
composition  has  sustained  no  injury  or 
discoloration.  Such  bricks  are  very  dura- 
ble in  dry  climates  like  Egypt,  but  would 
soon  be  ruined  if  exposed  to  much  rain. 
Herodotus  observed  it  as  one  of  the  cus- 
toms in  which  the  Egyptians  were  un- 
like  other  nations,  that  they  kneaded 
their  clay  with  their  hands,  and  their 
dough  with  their  feet.' — Pict.  Bib. 

13.  The  task-masters  hasted  them. 
Heb.  t3'^22i^  atzim  (were)  urgent,  press- 
ing. Chal.  '  Drove  them.'  As  the  task- 
masters  exercised  a  more  especial  super- 
intendance  over  the  '  officers,'  it  is  pro- 


78 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


14  And  the  ofTicers  of  the  children 
of  Israel,  which  Pharaoh's  task- 
masters had  set  over  them,  were 
beaten,  rr/n/  demanded.  Wherefore 
have  ye  not  fulfilled  your  task  in 
making  brick,  both  yesterday  and 
to-day,  as  heretofore  ? 

bable  that  the  latter  are  to  l)e  under- 
stood by  the  expletive  '  them'  in  this 
connexion.  This  appears  still  more 
obvious  in  comparing  the  next  verse. 

IT    Fulfil  your  uvrks,  your  daily 

tasks.  Heb.  1>:l^n  G1^  im  debar  yom 
beyomo,  the  matter  of  a  day  in  his  day. 

Gr.  ra  KaOriKCtvTa  kuB'  'rijiepaV}  the  things 

appropriate  to  every  day. 

14.  The  officers  of  the  children  of  Is- 
rael. That  is,  not  so  much  the  officers 
that  were  over  the  children  of  Israel, 
but  the  officers  that  were  by  birth  of 
the  children  of  Israel.  Accordingly  the 
Gr.  has,  'The  scribes  of  the  lineage  of 

the  sons  of  Israel.' fT   Were  beaten, 

and  demanded.  Heb.  ^JZiH^  I'D"^  yukku 
li'mor,  were  beaten,  saying.  '  This  is 
quite  oriental.  We  need  only  allude  to 
China,  which  has  aptly  been  said  to  be 
governed  by  the  stick.  In  Persia  also 
the  stick  is  in  continual  action.  Men 
of  all  ranks  and  ages  are  continually 
liable  to  be  beaten.  It  is  by  no  means 
a  rare  occurrence  for  the  highest  and 
most  trusted  persons  in  the  state,  in  a 
moment  of  displeasure  or  caprice  in 
their  royal  master,  to  be  handed  over 
to  the  beaters  of  carpets,  who  thrash 
them  with  their  slicks  as  if  they  were 
dogs.  The  same  practice  descends 
through  all  ranks  ;  and  it  has  often 
made  the  writer's  heart  ache  to  see  re- 
spectable, and  even  venerable  white- 
bearded  men  chastised  by  the  menials 
and  messengers  of  great  persons,  on 
their  own  account,  with  a  brutality 
which  would  in  this  country  subject  a 
man  to  judicial  punishment  if  exercised 
upon  his  ass  or  horse.  Thus,  beating 
comes  to  be  regarded  by  all  as  among 
the  coimiion  evils  to  which  life  is  inci- 


15  H  Then  the  officers  of  the 
children  of  Israel  came  and  cried 
unto  Pharaoh,  saying,  Wherefore 
dealest  thou  thus  with  thy  ser- 
vants ? 

IG  There  is  no  straw  given  unto 
thy  servants,  and  they  say  to  us, 


dent.  Instances  are  mentioned  of  per- 
sons who,  being  wealthy,  and  knowing 
that  attempts  would  be  made  to  extort 
money  from  them  by  beating,  have  in- 
ured themselves,  by  self-inflicted  blows, 
to  bear  the  worst  without  being  shaken. 
The  consequence  of  all  this  is,  that 
personal  chastisement  is  in  those  coun- 
tries not  considered  a  disgrace,  but  sim- 
ply a  misfortune,  limited  to  the  pain  in- 
flicted, or  to  the  degree  of  displeasure 
on  the  part  of  a  superior  which  it  may 
be  imderstood  to  indicate.  A  great 
minister  of  state,  who  was  beaten  yes- 
terday, does  not  hold  his  head  less 
erect,  and  is  not  less  courted  or  re- 
spected to-day,  if  he  still  retains  his 
place  and  influence  at  court  ;  and  if  his 
great  master  condescends,  on  second 
thoughts,  to  invest  his  bruised  person 
with  a  robe  of  honor,  and  to  speak  a 
few  words  of  kindness  or  compliment, 
the  former  punislmient  is  considered  by 
all  parties  to  be  more  than  adequately 
compensated.' — Pict.  Bib. 

15.  Then  the  officers  came  and  cried 
unto  Pharaoh,  &c.  Supposing  perhaps 
that  this  rigor  had  been  imposed  upon 
them  by  the  task-masters,  without  Pha- 
raoh's order,  and  therefore  having  hope 
of  obtaining  redress.  But,  alas  !  tlieirs 
was  a  case  of  which  it  might  well  be 
said  in  the  language  of  the  preacher, 
Ecc.  1.  1,  'I  returned  and  considered 
all  the  oppressions  that  are  done  under 
the  sun  ;  and  behold  the  tears  of  such 
as  were  oppressed,  and  they  had  no 
comforter  ;  and  on  the  side  of  their  op- 
pressors there  was  power ;  but  they  had 
no  comforter.' 

16.  The  fault  is  in  thine  oxen  people 
Heb.  y^'S   riXtsn  hattath  ammeka,  thy 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  V. 


79 


Make  brick  :  and  behold,  thy  ser- 
vants are  beaten  ;  but  the  fault  is 
in  thine  oAvn  people. 

17  But  he  said,  Ye  are  idle,  ye  are 
idle :  therefore  ye  say,  Let  us  go, 
ayid  do  sacrifice  to  the  Lord. 

18  Go  therefore  now,  and  work:  for 

people  has  sinned,  or  done  urong  j  or 
considering  lnj\t2n  a  noun,  this  is  the 
sin  of  thy  people.  The  true  meaning 
of  the  clause  is  not  easily  determined, 
as  it  is  by  no  means  obvious  Avhether 
the  phrase  '  thy  people'  is  to  be  referred 
to  the  Israelites  or  to  the  Egyptians. 
Those  who  adopt  the  former  construc- 
tion suppose  the  Israelites  are  called 
Pharaoh's  people  in  order  to  work  upon 
his  compassion.  But  even  in  this  case 
there  is  some  discrepancy  of  interpre- 
tation. The  words  maybe  understood 
as  a  complaint  of  the  officers  that  they 
were  beaten,  though  the  people  (the  Is- 
raelites) were  the  offenders,  if  any.  On 
another,  and  on  the  whole  a  better  con- 
struction, the  sense  will  be  ;  '  Behold 
thy  servants  are  beaten,  and  yet  the 
fault  really  lies  at  the  door  of  thine 
own  people  (the  Egyptians),  who  re- 
fuse to  furnish  them  strav.-.'  According 
to  this  the  Chal.  has,  '  Thy  people  sin- 
neth  against  them.'  Leclerc,  however, 
intimates  that  the  phrase,  '  the  fault  is 
in  thine  own  people,'  is  equivalent  to 
saying  the  fault  is  charged,  imputed,  to 
thine  o\\ti  people  (the  Israelites),  and 
punishment  inflicted  upon  them  accord- 
ingly, though  with  vast  injustice.  This 
is  somewhat  countenanced  by  the  Gr. 
Syr.  and  Vulg.  which  all  render  substan- 
tially, '  Thou  injurest  thy  people,'  i.  e. 
the  Israelites.  Wo^ire  still  left  in  some 
degree  of  suspense  as  to  the  true  import. 
17,  18.  But  he  said,  Ye  are  idle,  ye 
are  idle,  &c.  Thus  affording  a  sample 
of  the  grossest  t^'ranny,  which  gener- 
ally thinks  it  sufficient  to  answer  rea- 
sonable complaints  by  redoubled  abuse 
and  crimination,  and  by  increasing  the 
burdens  which  call  them  forth.     To  a 


there  shall  no  straw  be  given  vou, 
yet  shall  ye  deliver  the  tale  ofl^ricks. 
19  And  the  officers  of  the  children 
of  Israel  did  see  that  they  ivere  in 
evil  case,  after  it  was  said.  Ye  shall 
not  minish  au^ht  from  your  bricks 
of  your  daily  task. 


certain  extent  indeed  there  was  ground 
for  Pharaoh's  words  ;  that  is  to  say, 
they  recognize  the  fact,  that  being  idle 
is  oftentimes  the  occasion  of  indulging 
vain  and  evil  thoughts,  and  cherishing 
visionary  projects.  Had  it  been  true, 
as  he  professed  to  think,  that  the  Is- 
raelites had  not  work  enough  to  do, 
nothing  would  have  been  more  likely 
than  that  they  should  have  devised 
some  such  excursion  as  he  here  charges 
upon  them,  under  the  plea  of  religious 
service.  Thus  the  worldly  wisdom 
and  base  insinuations  of  the  king  of 
Egypt,  though  grossly  false  and  injuri- 
ous in  the  present  case,  may  yet  teach 
us  the  useful  lesson,  that  increased  dili- 
gence in  our  daily  work  is  one  of  the  best 
remedies  for  a  roving  imagination  and 
ungovernable  thoughts.  Let  those  that 
suffer  from  such  temptations  set  them- 
selves diligently  to  work  at  some  em- 
ployment useful  to  man  and  honorable 
to  God.  The  less  time  they  allow  their 
hands  to  be  idle,  the  less  will  be  the 
risk  of  their  thoughts  leading  them 
astray, 

19.  The  officers — did  sec  that  they 
were  in  evil  case.  Heb.  ^"^'2  in  evil. 
Moses  and  Aaron  are  here  made  to  ex- 
perience the  lot  that  sometimes  befalls 
good  men  in  the  best  of  causes.  Their 
well-meant  efforts  but  increase  the  hard- 
ships they  were  intended  to  remedy. 
The  mission  which  had  not  long  before 
so  exhilarated  the  minds  of  the  people 
and  filled  them  with  eager  anticipations 
of  deliverance,  now  proves  the  occasion 
of  new  miseries  and  persecutions.  Bad 
as  their  condition  had  been  before  the 
two  brothers  came  among  them  with 
their    promises    and    their    wonderful 


80 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


20  H  And  tliey  met  Moses  and 
Aaron,  who  stood  in  the  way,  as 
they  came  forili  from  Pharaoh  : 

21 ''  And  tliey  said  unto  them.  The 
l.oRD  h)ok  upon  you,  and  judge  ; 
because  ye  have  made  our  savour  to 
be  abhorred  in  the  eyes  of  Pharaoh, 
and  in  tlie  eyes  of  his  servants,  to 

hch.  6.9. 


put  a  sword  in  their  hand  to  slay  us. 

22  And  Moses  returned  unto  the 
LoRD,and  said, Lord,wherefore  hast 
thou  so  evil-entreated  this  people  ? 
why  is  it  that  thou  hast  sent  me  ? 

23  For  since  I  came  to  Pharaoh  to 
speak  in  thy  name,  he  hath  done 
evil  to  this  people :  neither  hast 
thou  delivered  thy  people  at  all. 


signs,  it  was  not  to  be  compared  to 
the  intolerable  hardships  which  the  vin- 
dictive despot,  in  consequence  of  this 
mission,  laid  ujion  them.  For  the  fan- 
cied invasion  of  his  royal  prerogative 
and  the  wound  given  to  his  pride,  he 
avenges  himself  upon  the  bleeding 
shoulders  of  the  poor  vassals  who  could 
not  redress  themselves  and  who  durst 
not  complain. 

20.  And  they  met  Moses  and  Aaron, 
vho  stood  in  the  iray,as  they  came  forth 
from  Pharaoh.  They  doubtless  having 
stationed  themselves  at  some  conveni- 
ent stand  on  the  way-side,  where  they 
could  speedily  learn  the  result  of  the 
interview. 

21.  The  Lord  look  upon  you,  &c. 
The  crimination  of  Moses  and  Aaron 
on  this  occasion  was  clearly  as  unjust 
and  unreasonable  as  that  of  Pharaoh 
had  been  well  deserved.  They  had 
given  the  best  evidence  of  their  de- 
votedness  to  the  interests  of  their  coun- 
trymen, and  of  their  zeal  for  their 
emancipation,  and  yet,  from  the  acci- 
dental issues  of  their  enterprise,  they 
are  reproached  as  accessaries  to  their 
slavery.  But  some  allowance  is  to  be 
made  for  their  rashness  on  the  principle 
mentioned  by  the  Preacher,  that  'op- 
pression will  drive  a  wise  man  mad,' 
so  that  he  shall  speak  unadvisedly  with 
his  lips,  and  sometimes  mistake  a  true 
friend  for  a  bitter  enemy.  But  let  pub- 
lic benefactors  learn  from  this,  that  they 
must  expect  to  be  tried,  not  only  by  the 
malice  of  declared  opponents,  but  also 
by  the  unjust  and  unkind  reflections  of 
those  from  whom  they  had  a  right  to 


hope  for  better  things. IT    Put  a 

sword  in  their  hands  to  slay  us.  That 
is,  give  them  a  plausible  pretext  for  de- 
stroying us.  A  proverbial  expression. 
22.  And  Moses  returned,  &c.  Or 
rather  perhaps  'turned  unto  the  Lord,' 
i.e.  mentally,  for  we  can  conceive  of 
no  local  return  expressed  by  the  term. 
He  Avas  evidently  unprepared  for  this 
issue  of  the  transaction,  though  he  had 
been  assured  by  God  himself,  that  Pha- 
raoh would  not,  till  driven  to  the  ut- 
most extremity,  consent  to  the  depart- 
ure of  the  Israelites.  While  he  could  not 
but  be  grieved  to  the  heart  to  perceive 
that  his  efforts  to  serve  his  brethren  had 
only  contributed  to  plunge  them  deeper 
in  distress,  yet  he  was  doubtless  strong- 
ly sensible  of  the  wrong  that  was  done 
to  him  by  their  keen  reproaches.  But  in- 
stead of  retorting  upon  them  in  terms 
of  equal  harshness,  he  has  immediate 
recourse  to  God  and  to  him  he  pours 
out  his  complaint  in  a  pathetic  expostu- 
lation.  IT    Wherefore   hast  thou  so 

evil  entreated  this  people  1  That  is, 
why  hast  thou  suffered  them  to  be  so 
evilly  treated,  as  is  evident  from  the 
tenor  of  the  next  verse.  But  as  we  have 
seen  before,  this  is  entirely  according  to 
prevailing  usage  in  the  Scripture  to  re- 
present God  as  dying  that  which  he 
sovereignly  permits  to  be  done.  Thus 
the  petition  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  '  Lead 
us  not  into  temptation,'  is  to  be  under- 
stood, not  of  any  supposable  direct  and 
positive  act  on  the  part  of  God,  but  sim- 
ply of  i-t/^eran  re  and  permission :  'Do 
not  suffer  us  to  be  led  into  temptation.' 
i  Moses  was  evidently  at  a  loss  how  to 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  VI. 


81 


CHArTER  VI. 

THEN  the  LoKD  said  unto  Moses, 
Now  shah  thou  see  what  I  will 
do  to  Pharaoh  :  for  a  with  a  strong 
hand  shall  he  let  them  go,  and  with 

a  eh.  3.  19. 

reconcile  the  adverse  providence  with 
the  promise  and  the  commission  which 
he  had  received.  He  had  indeed  been 
taught  to  anticipate  Pharaoh's  refusal 
to  let  the  people  go,  hut  he  was  taken 
by  surprise  on  finding  their  burdens  in- 
creased. It  seemed  to  him  that  his 
mission  was  utterly  abortive,  and  that 
thus  far  not  one  step  had  been  taken  to- 
wards their  deliverance.  But  guided  by 
the  light  of  his  experience,  and  that  of 
thousands  of  others  in  subsequent  times, 
we  can  put  a  more  discreet  construction 
upon  this  apparently  mysterious  style  of 
dispensation.  To  us  it  is  not  a  strange 
spectacle  to  see  the  most  merciful  coun- 
sels of  God  ushered  in  by  a  train  of 
events  apparently  the  most  disastrous  ; 
to  see  his  dearest  servants  reduced  to 
the  utmost  straits  just  when  he  is  ready 
to  appear  for  their  deliverance  ;  and  to 
witness  the  best  directed  endeavors  for 
men's  conviction  and  conversion,  but  ex- 
asperating their  corruptions,  confirming 
their  prejudices,  hardening  their  hearts, 
and  sealing  them  up  under  unbelief 
This  result  is  suffered  to  take  place  in 
infinite  wisdom  that  we  may  learn  to 
cease  from  man,  and  that  the  divine  in- 
terpositions may  be  more  endeared  to 
the  hearts  of  those  that  wait  for  them. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
1.  Then  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
&c.  That  is,  in  answ(?r  to  the  com- 
plaining tenor  of  his  address  mentioned 
at  the  close  of  the  preceding  chapter, 
to  which  tliis  verse  properly  belongs. 
It  is  somewhat  singular,  indeed,  that  it 
should  have  been  separated  from  it,  for 
with  this  verse  ends  the  fourteenth  sec- 
tion, or  Sabbath  day's  reading  of  the 
Law  J  a  division  very  clearly  marked  in 


a  strong  hand  i»  shall  he  drive  them 
out  of  his  land. 
2  And  God  spake  unto  Moses,  and 
said  unto  him,  I  am  the  Lord  : 

bch.  11.  1.&  12.31,33,39. 

the  Hebrew  Scriptures. — The  murmur 
ing  spirit  in  which  Moses  appealed  tc 
God  might  have  been  justly  met  by  a 
stern  rebuke.  But  in  the  tone  of  gentle- 
ness and  kindness  in  which  this  answc 
IS  couched  we  read  no  reproach  of  the 
infirmity,  not  to  say  perverseness,  which 
had  appeared  in  Moses'  language.  Thus 
long-suffering  and  indulgent  is  the  Fa- 
ther of  mercies  towards  his  offending 
children.  By  an  emphatic  repetition  of 
the  promise  before  given,  Ex.  3.  20,  he 
silences  the  complaints  of  his  servant 
and  assures  him  not  only  of  ultimate 
but  speedy  success  in  his  embassy  to 

the  king. IT   Now  shalt   thou  see. 

Your  seeing  this  result  shall  not  long 
be  delayed.  The  words  perliaps  imply 
a  tacit  reproof  of  his  former  incredulity  ; 
q.  d.  I  perceive  you  are  slow  to  believe 
what  I  assured  you,  ch.  3.  19,  20,  I 
would  do  to  Pharaoh.  Therefore  you 
shall  very  shortly  have  evidence  that 

will  convince  you. TT   With  a  strong 

hand  shall  he  let  them  go,  &c.  The 
'  strong  hand'  here  mentioned  is  to  be 
understood  both  of  God  and  of  Pharaoh. 
Pharaoh  should  by  the  sudden  exercise 
of  his  kingly  power  and  with  great 
urgency  send  them  forth  out  of  Egypt ; 
but  to  this  he  should  himself  be.  com- 
pelled by  the  '  strong  hand'  of  God  put 
forth  in  the  terrific  judgments  of  the 
plagues.  The  language  of  the  promise, 
it  will  be  observed,  becomes  more  in- 
tense in  the  final  clause.  He  shall  not 
only  be  brought  at  last  to  consent  to  the 
departure  of  Israel,  but  shall  be  im- 
pelled  himself  by  the  pressure  of  the 
divine  judgments  to  urge  and  hasten  it 
with  the  utmost  vehemence. 

2.   And  God  spake  unto  Moses,  &c. 
Whether  this  is  to  be  regarded  as  a 


82 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


3  And  I  appeared  unto  Abraham, 
unto  Isaac,  and  unto  Jacob  by  the 
name  of  c  God  Almighty,  but  by 

«  Gea  17  1.  &  35.  11.  &  48.  3. 


continuation  of  the  address  commenced 
in  tho  jireceding  verse,  or  whether  it 
vas  spoken  to  Moses  on  some  subse- 
quent occasion,  is  not  easily  determin- 
ed. However  this  may  be,  the  drift  of 
the  wortls  is  undoubtedly  to  show  the 
sure  foundation  on  wliich  the  fulfdment 
of  the  promise  of  deliverance  rested. 
To  this  end  he  begins  by  declaring  him- 
self under  the  significant  name  of  '  Je- 
hovah,' by  which  he  designed  hereafter 
to  be  more  especially  recognized  as  the 
covenant  God  of  their  race.  Hitherto 
the  august  title  of 'Lord  God  Almighty' 
(El  Shaddai)  had  been  that  with  which 
they  had  been  most  familiar,  and  which 
had  atforded  the  grand  sanction  and 
security  to  all  his  promises.  In  their 
various  wanderings,  weaknesses,  and 
distresses,  they  had  been  encouraged 
to  trust  in  a  Being  omnipotent  to  pro- 
tect them,  all-sufficient  to  supply  their 
wants.  But  their  posterity  were  hence- 
forth to  know  him  by  another  name, 
under  a  new  character,  even  the  incom- 
municable name  '  Jehovah,'  which  de- 
notes eternal  unchangeable  self-exist- 
ence ;  deriving  nothing  from  any,  but 
conferring  upon  all,  life,  and  breath,  and 
all  things;  who  is  above  all,  through 
all,  and  in  all ;  '  the  same  yesterday,  to 
day,  and  for  ever.'  This  glorious  name 
he  puts  significantly  in  contrast  with 
that  by  which  he  was  known  to  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  order  to  min- 
ister to  Ids  people  a  more  abundant 
ground  of  hope  and  confidence. 

3.  By  my  name  Jehovah  u-as  I  not 
knou-n  to  them.  Gr.  'My  name  'Lord'  I 
did  not  manifest  unto  them.'  Chal.  'My 
name  '  Adonai'  I  showed  not.'  A  two- 
fold mode  of  interpretation  divides  into 
two  classes  the  great  mass  of  commen- 
tators upon  this  passage.  (L)  It  is 
maintained  by  some  that  the  words  are 


my  name  ''  JEHOVAH  was  I  not 
known  to  them. 

d  ch.  3.  14.    Ps.  08.  4.  &  83.  IS.    John  8.  58. 
Rev.  1.4. 

to  be  understood  in  their  most  exact  and 
literal  import,  as  teaching  that  the  name 
'  Jehovah'  was  utterly  unknown  to  the 
ancient  patriarchs,  and  was  first  reveal- 
ed to  Moses  at  the  burning  bush,  where, 
when  he  asked  the  name  which  he 
should  announce  to  Israel,  God  declared 
himself  by  the  sacred  denomination  '  I 
am  that  I  am,'  which  is  of  the  same 
origin  and  import  with  '  Jehovah,'  and 
said  moreover  of  the  title  '  Jehovah,' 
'  this  is  my  name  for  ever,  and  this  is 
my  memorial  unto  all  generations.'  The 
advocates  of  this  opinion,  in  answer  to 
the  objection  that  the  name  in  question 
must  have  been  known  long  before  this, 
as  it  occurs  in  re])eated  mstances  m  the 
course  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  reply, 
that  as  there  is  no  evidence  that  the 
book  of  Genesis  was  written  till  after 
the  divine  appearance  at  Horeb,  when 
this  title  was  first  revealed,  the  mere 
fact  of  Moses'  making  use  of  the  name 
'  Jehovah'  in  that  book  is  no  sufficient 
proof  that  the  name  was  known  to  those 
of  whom  he  writes,  anymore  than  his 
mention  of  a  place  called  '  Dan'  in  the 
time  of  Abraham,  Gen.  14.  14,  proves 
that  the  place  was  at  that  time  knowTi 
by  this  name,  whereas  it  was  then  called 
'  Laish.'  They  contend  farther,  that  as 
Moses  wrote  for  the  benefit  of  those  of 
his  owTi  age  and  their  posterity,  it  was 
specially  fitting,  that  in  writing  the  his- 
tory of  the  Israelitish  race  from  its 
earliest  period,  he  should  proleptically 
employ  that  peculiar  name  by  which 
the  Most  High  would  be  knowm  as  their 
God,  the  very  same  God  who  brought 
them  out  of  Egypt,  and  who,  a  little 
before  that  deliverance,  had  made  this 
his  name  known  to  them  as  that  by 
which  he  would  especially  be  called  in 
memory  of  that  great  event.  As  to  the  \ 
passages  where  the  patriarchs  are  re- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  VI. 


83 


presented  as  expressly  addressing  the 
Lord  by  his  title  '  Jehovah,'  as  for  in- 
stance, Gen.  15.  2,  these,  they  say,  are 
corrnpted  in  the  original  text,  and  that 
later  writers  have  snbstituted  '  Jehovah' 
for  '  Elohini'  or  '  Adonai,'  wliich  Moses 
undoubtedly  wrote,  and  this  hj^othe- 
sis,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  somewhat 
favored  by  the  variation  of  several  of 
the  ancient  versions  from  the  present 
Hebrew  reading.  See  Geddes'  Critical 
Remarks  on  this  passage,  who  observes, 
that  '  if  the  name  'Jehovah'  were  known 
I  before  it  was  here  communicated  to  Mo- 
I  ses,  and  were  the  common  appellation 
1  of  the  God  of  the  patriarchs,  the  ques- 
tion of  Moses,  Ex.  3.  13,  was  needless, 
was  impertinent  ;  for  God  had  before 
told  him,  V.  6,  that  he  was  '  the  God  of 
his  (Moses')  fathers,  the  God  of  Abra- 
ham, the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of 
Jacob.'  It  is  clear  then  that  Moses,  by 
asking,  what  was  the  name  of  this  same 
God  of  his  fathers,  knew  not  that  he 
had  any  particular  name  ;  and  that  par- 
ticular '  Jehovah'  is  now,  for  the  first 
time,  made  known  as  the  peculiar  God 
of  the  Israelitic  nation.'  These  are  the 
principal  arguments  adduced  in  favor 
of  the  first  hj^othesis.  (2.)  Others, 
and  we  think  for  better  reasons,  under- 
stand the  words  as  implying,  not  that 
the  literal  name  '  Jehovah'  Avas  un- 
known to  the  ancient  fathers  who  pre- 
ceded Moses,  but  that  its  true,  full,  and 
complete  import — its  force,  burden,  and 
pregnant  significancy,  was  not  before 
known  ;  whereas  now  and  hereafter,  the 
chosen  people  should  come  to  under- 
stand this  august  name,  not  in  the  letter 
merely,  but  in  the  actual  realization  of 
all  which  it  implied.  The  name  '  Je- 
hovah,' as  before  remarked,  natively 
denotes  not  only  God's  eternal  exist- 
ence, but  also  his  unchangeable  truth 
and  omnipotent  power,  whicli  give  being 
to  liis  promises  by  the  actual  perform- 
ance of  them.  Now,  altliough  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob,  had  received 
promises,    yet  they  had   not  enjoyed 


the  things  promised.  They  believed  in 
these  things,  but  they  liad  not  lived  to 
see  the  actual  accomplij>hmont  of  them  ; 
they  had  not  experimentally  known 
them.  The  time,  however,  was  now 
come,  when  God  was  to  be  known  by 
his  name  '  Jehovah,'  in  the  doing  of 
what  he  had  before  decreed,  and  the  ful- 
filling of  what  he  had  before  promised. 
Accordingl}'  in  the  words  immediately 
following,  which  may  be  regarded  as 
exegctical  of  the  title  under  considera- 
tion, God  goes  on  to  assure  tl)em  that 
he  will  make  good  his  promise  bj'-  estab- 
lishing his  covenant.  Agreeably  to  this 
mode  of  interpretation  it  appears  from 
other  passages  that  God  is  said  to  make 
himself  known  under  the  high  designa- 
tion of  '  Jehovah'  by  bringing  to  pass 
the  grand  predicted  events  of  his  provi- 
dence. Thus,  Ex.  7.  5,  'And  that  the 
Egyptians  shall  know  that  I  am  Je- 
hovah, when  I  stretch  forth  my  hand 
upon  Egypt.'  Again,  v.  17,  '  Thou  shall 
know  that  I  am  Jehovah  ;  for  I  will 
strike  with  the  rod  that  is  in  thine  hand 
upon  the  rivers,  and  they  shalt  be  turned 
into  blood.'  Ezek.  28.  22,  '  And  they 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  (Jeho- 
vah) when  I  shall  have  executed  judg- 
ments in  her  and  shall  be  sanctified  in 
her.'  It  may  be  observed,  moreover, 
that  the  Lord  is  not  called  '  Jehovali' 
till  after  he  had  finished  the  work  of 
creation,  Gen.  2.  4  ;  and  in  like  manner 
Christ,  having  fulfilled  all  things  per- 
taining to  our  redemption,  which  is  the 
new  creation,  manifested  himself  under 
the  same  significant  name,  not  in  its 
letter  but  in  its  interpretation,  when  he 
declared  himself.  Rev.  1.8,  17,  18,  to 
be  '  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  be- 
ginning and  tlie  ending,  the  Lord  who 
is,  and  who  was,  and  who  is  to  come, 
even  the  Almighty.'  The  words  of  Mo- 
ses, therefore,  it  is  contended,  are  not 
to  be  understood  as  an  absolute  but  a 
comparative  negative  ;  for  that  the  lit- 
eral name  '■  Jehovali'  was  known  to  the 
patriarchs,  is  indubitable,  from  the  fol 


84 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


4  e  And  I  have  also  established  1 
my  covenant  with  them,  <"  to  give 
ihem  the  land  of  Canaan,  the  land 
of  their  pilgrimage,  wherein  they 
were  strangers. 

5  And  g  I  have  also  heard  the 
groaning  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
whom  the  Egyptians  keep  in  bond- 
age :  and  I  have  remembered  my 
covenant. 

6  Wherefore  say  unto  the  children 
of  Israel,  ^lam  the  Lord,  and  i  I 

e  Gen.  15.  18.  &  17.  4,  7.  f  Gen.  17.  8.  & 
28  4.  s  ch.  2.  24.  h  ver.  2,  8,  29.  i  ch.  3. 
17.  &  7.  4.  Deut.  26.  8.  Ps.  81.  6.  &  136. 
11,  12. 


lowing  passages ;  Gen.  9.  26,  Noah  in 
his  benedictioh  of  Shem  says,  '  Blessed 
be  the  Lord  (Jehovah)  God  of  Shem.' 
Gen.  15.  2,  'And  Abraham  said,  Lord 
(Jehovah  or  Jehovih)  God,  what  wilt 
thou  give  me  V  Gen,  22. 14,  'And  Abra- 
ham called  the  name  of  that  place  Je- 
hovali-jireh.'  Certainly  then  the  name 
'  Jehovah'  must  have  been  known  to 
him.  And  so  also  to  Isaac,  Gen.  27,  7  ; 
and  to  Jacob,  Gen.  28.  20,  21.  Such 
comparative  modes  of  speech  are  not 
unfrequent  in  the  Scriptures.  Thus  Jer. 
7.  22,  23,  '  For  I  spake  not  imto  your 
fathers,  nor  commanded  them  in  the 
day  that  I  brought  them  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  concerning  burnt-offerings  or 
sacrifices.  But  this  thing  commanded 
I  them,  saying.  Obey  my  voice,  and  I 
will  be  your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  my 
people  ;'  i.  e.  I  gave  no  commandment 
respecting  ritual  duties  compared  with 
the  importance  which  I  attached  to 
moral  duties.  Otherwise  it  is  evident 
that  the  language  of  the  Most  High  mi- 
litates with  the  recorded  facts  in  the 
sacred  history. 

4.  I  have  also  established  my  covenant 
v^ith  them.    Heb.  '^n^i'^pn  hakimothi, 

have  made  to  stand,  have  erected. 

IT  To  s;ive  them.  That  is,  not  in  their 
own  persons,  but  in  their  posterity. 

■0.  /  have  remembered  my  covenant. 
That  is,  I  still  bear  in  vivid  remem- 


will  bring  you  out  from  under  the 
burdens  of  the  Egyptians,  and  I  will 
rid  you  out  of  their  bondage,  and  I 
will  ^  redeem  you  with  a  stretched- 
out  arm,  and  with  great  judg- 
ments : 
7  And  I  will  i  take  you  to  me  for  a 
people,  and  ^l  -will  be  to  you  a 
God  :  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord  your  God,  which  bruig- 
eth  you  out  n  from  under  the  bur- 
dens of  the  Egyptians. 

kch.  15.  13.  Deut.  7.  8.  1  Chron.  17.  21. 
Neh.  1.10.  1  Deut.  4.  20.  &  7.  6.  &  14.  2.  &  26. 
18.  2  Sam.  7.  24.  >"  Gen.  17.  7,  8.  ch.  29.  45, 46. 
Deut.  29.  13.  Rev.  21.7.  n  ch.  5.  4,  5.  Ps.  81.6. 


brance  my  covenant  entered  into  with 
Abraham,  Gen.  15. 10. 11,  and  confirmed 
with  solemn  rites,  in  which  I  promised 
that  I  would  judge  that  nation  which 
should  afflict  his  seed. 

6,  7.  I  am  the  Lord  (Jehovah),  and  I 
will  bring  you  out — will  rid — will  re- 
deem— u-ill  take,  &c.  These  verbs  are 
all,  in  the  original,  in  the  past  instead 
of  the  future  tense,  denoting  the  abso- 
lute certainty  of  the  accomplishment 
of  the  things  promised,  though  for  the 
present  they  were  merely  in  futurition. 
But  where  God  becomes  a  covenant '  Je- 
hovah'  to  any  soul  or  any  people,  the 
unfailing  effect  is  to  put  his  every  pro- 
mise  into  being,  and  it  should  not  be 
forgotten  that  in  Christ,  under  the  Gos- 
pel, he  becomes  empliatically  such  to 
his  church.  Here  the  precious  and  glo- 
rious titles  '  El  Shaddai'  and  'Jehovah,' 
power  and  performance,  are  sweetly 
combined  in  the  person  of  him  in  whom 

the  promises  are  all  yea  and  amen. 

TT  With  a  strctched-out  arm.  The  word 
here  rendered  '  stretched-out,'  may  also 
be  rendered  '  lifted  up,'  or  '  high,'  as  it 
is  in  fact  by  the  Chal.  and  Latin  Vul- 
gate.  The  expression  is  borrowed  from 
the  circumstance  of  men's  stretching 
out  and  lifting  up  their  arms  and  hands 
with  a  view  to  strike  their  enemies 
v.'ith  greater  force.  In  order  to  which, 
it  was  usual  in  those  Eastern  countries 


B.  C.  1531.] 


CHAPTER  VI. 


85 


8  And  I  will  bring  you  in  unto  the 
land,  concerning  the  which  I  did 
<"  swear  to  give  it  to  Abraham,  to 
Isaac,  and  to  Jacob ;  and  I  will 
give  it  you  for  an  heritage  :  I  a/n 
the  Lord. 

9  ^  And  Moses  spake  so  unto  the 

o  Gen.  15.  18.  &  26.  3.  &  28.  13.  &.  35.  12. 

where  their  outer  garments  were  of  a 
loose  and  flowing  kind,  to  fling  thenri 
aside  that  they  might  not  hinder  or 
weaken  the  eflfect  of  the  intended  blow. 
It  is  in  allusion  to  this  that  the  expres- 
sion '  making  bare  his  holy  arm,'  is  ap- 
plied to  the  Most  High,  Is.  54.  10,  in 
speaking  of  the  inflictions  of  his  wrath 
upon  his  enemies. 

8.  Concerning  the  which  I  did  swear 
to  give  it.  Heb.  ^']^  tiHi  ^f>i)i.lD^  7iasa. 
thi  eth  yadi,  have  lifted  up  my  hand; 
an  expression  taken  from  the  common 
custom  of  elevating  the  hand  to  heaven 
when  taking  an  oath.  Dan.  12.  7,  'And 
I  heard  the  man  clothed  in  linen,  which 
was  upon  the  waters  of  the  river,  when 
he  held  up  his  right  hand  and  his  left 
hand  unto  heaven,  and  sware,  &c.'  See 
Deut.  32.  40.  Is.  62.  S. 

9.  They  hearkened  not  unto  Moses 
for  anguish  of  spirit,  and  from  cru- 
el bondage.  Heb.  m"l  *l!2p?3  mikkot- 
zer  ruah,  for  shortness,  or  straitness  of 
spirit.  That  is,  from  extreme  dejection 
and  discouragement  of  soul,  mingled 
with  irrritation  and  impatience.  That 
this  is  the  force  of  the  original  will  ap- 
pear from  the  usage  in  the  following 
passages.  Prov.  14.29,  •  He  that  is  slow 
to  wrath  is  of  great  understanding  ;  but 
he  tliat  is  hasty  of  spirit  (Heb.  mi  llTp 
ketzarruah)  exalteth  folly.'  Job,  21. 
4,  '  And  if  it  were  so,  why  should  not 
my  spirit  be  troubled  (Heb.  I^ZpiTi  tikt- 
zar,  shortened).'  Numb.  21.  4,  'And 
the  soul  of  the  people  was  much  dis- 
couraged (Heb.  lipn  shortened)  by 
reason  of  the  way.'  Judg.  16.  16,  'And 
it  came  to  pass,  when  she  pressed  him 

Vor..  I  8 


children  of  Israel :  p1)ut  they  heark- 
ened not  unto  Moses,  for  anguish 
of  spirit,  and  for  cruel  bondage. 

10  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Mo- 
ses, saying, 

11  Go  in,  speak  unto  Pharaoh  king 
of  Egypt,  that  he  let  the  children 
of  Israel  go  out  of  his  land. 

Pch.5.  21. 


daily  with  her  words,  and  urged  him, 
so  that  his  soul  was  vexed  (Heb.  ISpD 
shortened)  unto  death.'  The  Gr.  renders 
it  '  from  feeble-mindedness,'  the  same 
word  in  effect  and  nearly  in  form  as 
that  which  occurs,  1  Thes.  5.  14, '  Com- 
fort the  feeble-minded.'  It  is  to  this  pe- 
riod probably  that  allusion  is  had,  Ex. 
14.  12,  'Is  not  this  the  word  that  we  did 
tell  thee  in  Egypt,  saying.  Let  us  alone 
that  we  may  serve  the  Egyptians,  for  it 
had  been  better  for  us  to  serve  the  Egyp- 
tians than  that  we  should  die  in  the  wil- 
derness  ;'  which  words  in  the  Samaritan 
version  are  inserted  in  this  place.  To 
such  a  pitch  of  disheartening  anguish 
had  their  sufferings  wrought  them  that 
they  chose  to  have  all  farther  proceed- 
ings relative  to  their  deliverance  stayed. 
So  heavy  was  their  affliction,  and  so 
grievously  had  they  been  of  late  dis- 
appointed, that  they  can  neither  believe 
nor  hope  any  longer  ;  and  the  message 
now  dcHvered  by  Moses  was  like  a 
charming  song  upon  the  ear  of  a  deaf 
or  dead  man.  So  strongly  does  a  sense 
of  wretchedness  oppose  the  cordial 
reception  of  promises  and  encourage- 
ments. Even  the  comforts  to  which 
they  are  entitled,  and  which  God  has 
expressly  provided  for  them,  do  the  dis- 
consolate put  far  from  them  under  the 
pressure  of  their  griefs.  'To  whom  he 
said.  This  is  the  rest  wherewith  ye  may 
cause  the  weary  to  rest ;  and  this  is 
the  refreshing  :  yet  they  would  not.'  Is. 
28.  12. 

10, 1 1 .  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses, 
&c.  The  narrative  proceeds  to  inform 
us  with  what  still   f.irther  indulgence 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


12  And  Moses  ppake  Ijefore  the 

Lord,  saying,  Behold,  the  children 

^     ctf  I>rael  have  '»  not  hearkened  unto 

uie  ;  liovv  then  shall  PJiaraoh  hear 

q  ver.  9. 

God  Ireatfd  tlie  backwardness  of  his 
}jeoj)lo  to  wckonie  the  tidings  of  dcHv- 
erancc.  He  still  moved  forwards  in  his 
measures  for  their  rehef,  as  if  he  heard 
not  or  heeded  not  their  unbeheving  com- 
jdaiiits,  and  remonstrances,  and  groans. 
Tliat  pervcrseness  which  would  a  thou- 
sand times  have  wearied  out  all  human 
forbearance,  is  still  graciously  borne 
with  by  the  long-sufiering  of  heaven. 
But  that  which  is  mercy  to  Israel  is 
wrath  to  Pharaoh,  although  the  punish- 
ment which  is  ripening  even  for  him  is 
not  to  be  inflicted  without  farther  warn- 
ings. ■  When  the  Lord  is  about  to  visit 
with  judgments,  we  see  him  advancing 
as  with  slow  and  reluctant  steps.  On 
the  contrary,  when  misery  is  to  be  re- 
lieved, benefits  conferred,  or  sms  for- 
given, the  blessing  makes  haste  as  it 
were,  to  spend  itself  upon  its  objects. 
But  when  the  wicked  are  to  be  dealt 
with,  justice  seems  to  regret  the  neces- 
sity under  which  it  is  laid  to  maintain 
itself,  and  the  sinner  is  not  destroyed 
till  the  equity  of  his  condemnation  is 
manifest,  and  every  thing  around  him 
calls  for  vengeance. 

12.  And  Muses  spake  before  the  Lord, 
&c.  It  would  seem  that  Moses  had 
caught,  in  some  measure,  the  spirit  of 
despondency  wliich  reigned  among  his 
brethren.  He  speaks  as  one  discouraged 
and  timidly  .sfirinking  from  what  ap- 
pears to  him  a  hopeless  service.  Rea- 
soning from  the  less  to  the  greater,  he 
is  ready  to  conclude  the  cause  to  be 
desperate.  If  the  Israelites  themselves, 
who  were  so  deeply  interested  in  the 
burden  of  his  message,  turned  a  deaf  ear 
to  it,  how  little  ground  had  he  to  hope 
for  a  liearing  from  Pliaraoh  ?  Would 
he  not,  in  the  pride  and  insolence  of  his 
spirit,  spurn  a^message  which  required 


me,  r  who  am  of  uncircurncised 
lips  ? 

13  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Mo- 
ses, and  unto  Aaron,  and  gave  them 

r  ver.  30.  ell.  4.  10.  Jer.  1.6. 

him  to  bow  down  his  loftiness  and  hum- 
bly submit  to  the  authority  of  a  Being 
whom  he  did  not  acknowledge,  and  in 
so  doing  to  honor  a  people  whom  he 
despised  ?  More  especially  was  he  led 
to  distrust  his  success  when^  he  called 
to  mind  his  own  infirmity  in  speaking 
This  objection  God  had  indeed  suffi- 
ciently overruled  on  a  former  occasion, 
but  in  the  depth  of  his  dejection  he 
pleads  it  again,  forgetting  the  suffi- 
ciency of  grace  to  overcome  the  defects 
of  nature.  In  these  circumstances,  with 
a  leader  disheartened  and  broken  down 
in  spirit  and  a  people  sunk  in  utter  des- 
pondency, what  hope  remained  of  de- 
liverance to  Israel,  had  not  God  him- 
self taken  the  accomplishment  of  the 
whole  work  into  his  ow'u  hands?  But 
his  strength  is  made  perfect  in  man's 

weakness. II  Who  am  of  uncircurrt' 

cised  lips.  Chal.  'Of  an  heavy  speech.' 
Gr.  a'Xoyos,  without  speech.  As  among 
the  Jews  the  circumcision  of  any  part 
denoted  its  perfection,  so  on  the  other 
hand  uncircumcision  w-as  used  to  sig- 
nify  its  defectiveness  or  inaptitude  to 
the  purposes  for  which  it  was  designed. 
Thus  the  prophet  says  of  the  Jews,  Jer. 
(i.  10,  that  '  their  ear  was  uncircum- 
cised,'  and  adds  the  explanation  of  it, 
'  because  they  cannot  hearken. I  Again, 
ch.  9.  26,  he  tells  us  that  '  the  house  ol 
Israel  were  uncircumcised  in  heart,'  i.  e. 
would  not  understand  and  learn  their 
duty.  In  like  manner  '  uncircumcised 
lips'  in  the  passage  before  us  must  mean 
a  person  who  was  a  bad  speaker  and 
wanting  eloquence.  Syr.  '  Mine  is  a 
stammering  tongue.' 

13.  The  Lord  spake  vnto  Moses  and 
unto  Aaron,  and  gave  them  a  charge, 
&c.  Aaron  is  here  again  joined  in  com- 
mission with  Moses,  and  the   debate 


B.  C.  1491.' 


CHAPTER  VI. 


87 


a  charge  unto  the  clnldren  of  Israel, 
and  unto  Phnraoh  kinu:  of  Ei^ypt,  to 
brins:  the  cliildren  of  Israel  out  of 
the  land  of  Ei^ypt. 

14  H  These  be  the  heads  of  their 
fathers'  houses  :  *  The  sons  of  Reu- 
ben the  first-born  of  Israel ;  Hanoch, 
and  Pallu,  Hezron,  and  Carmi  : 
these  be  the  families  of  Reuben. 

15  t  And  the  sons  of  Simeon ;  Je- 
muel,  and  Jamin,  and  Ohad,  and 
Jachin,  and  Zohar,  and  Shaul  the 
son  of  a  Canaanitish  woman:  these 
are  the  families  of  Simeon. 

»  16  1[  And  these  are  the  names  of 

« the   sons   of  Levi,  according  to 

s  Gen.  46.  9.  1  Cliron.  5.  3.  t  i  ciiron.  4.  24. 
Gen.  46.  10.  "Gen.  46.  11.  Numb.  3.17. 
1  Chron.  6.  1,  16. 

ended  by  the  interposition  of  the  divine 
authority.  A  solenm  charge  is  given  to 
both  which,  upon  their  allegiance,  they 
are  required  to  execute  with  all  pos- 
sible expedition  and  fidelity.  ^  Where 
the  word  of  a  king  is,  there  is  power,' 
and  the  repetition  of  baffled  arguments 
is  suitably  cut  short  by  the  voice  of  the 
Most  High  speaking  in  majesty.  It  is 
not  clear  that  the  words  of  this  verse 
are  to  be  understood  as  the  answer  to 
what  Moses  had  said  in  the  verse  be- 
fore. They  seem  to  be  rather  a  brief 
recapitulation  of  what  had  been  said  in 
the  three  preceding  verses!  As  he  was 
about  to  interrupt  the  thread  of  the  nar- 
rative by  the  insertion  of  a  genealogical 
table,  he  here  repeats  the  general  fact 
of  Moses  and  Aaron  having  received  a 
charge  to  go  into  the  presence  of  Pha- 
raoh and  renew  their  demand  of  the 
dismission  of  the  people.  The  histo- 
rian thus  indicates  the  posture  of  things 
at  that  particular  stage  of  the  business 
where  the  continuity  of  his  story  is 
broken. 

14.  These  be  the  heads,  &c.  Gr.  noy^n- 
yii,  chiefs,  captains,  governors.  '  Their 
houses,'  i.  e.  the  houses  of  Moses  and 
Aaron.  The  design  of  introducing  this 
genealogical  record  in  its  present  con- 


their  ^generations ;  Gershon,  and 
Kohath,  and  Merari.  And  the 
years  of  the  life  of  Levi  icerc  an 
hundred  thirty  and  seven  years. 

17  xThe  sons  of  Gershon  ;  Libni, 
and  Shimi,  according  to  their  fami- 
lies. 

IS  And  y  the  sons  of  Kohath  ;  Am- 
ram,  and  Izhar,  and  Hebron,  and 
Uzziel :  and  the  years  of  the  life  of 
Kohath  were  an  hundred  thirty  and 
three  years. 

19  And  z  the  sons  of  Merari;  Ma- 
hali  and  Mushi :  these  arc  the  fa- 
milies of  Levi,  according  to  their 
generations. 

X  1  Chron.  6.  IT.  &  23.  7.  y  Numb.  26.  57. 
1  Chron.  6.  2,  18.     z  1  Chron.  6.  I'J.  &  23.  21. 

nexion,  is  to  point  out  distinctly  the 
stock  and  lineage  of  Moses  and  Aaron. 
As  one  of  these  was  to  be  the  great 
Legislator  and  Prophet,  and  the  other 
the  High  Priest  of  the  peculiar  people, 
it  might  be  of  very  great  importance 
in  after  ages  to  have  their  true  descent 

authenticated  beyond  a  doubt. IT  The 

sons  of  Reuben,  &c.  As  Reuben  and 
Simeon  were  elder  than  Levi,  from 
whom  Moses  and  Aaron  derived  their 
pedigree,  it  seemed  to  be  proper  to  state 
the  rank  which  their  progenitor  held, 
in  the  order  of  birth,  among  the  sons  of 
Jacob. 

16.  According  to  their  generations. 
The  force  of  this  expression  may,  per- 
haps, be  better  conceived  by  its  being 
paraphrased  thus  :  'These  are  the  names 
of  the  sons  of  Levi,  viewed  in  connex- 
ion with  the  respective  lines  of  descend- 
ants proceeding  from  them.'' IT  The 

years  of  the  life  of  Levi,  &c.  Levi  was 
four  years  elder  than  Joseph,  conse- 
quently he  was  43  when  he  came  into 
Egypt,  Josejjh  being  then  39;  was  114 
at  the  death  of  Joseph,  wliom  he  sur- 
vived 23  years  ;  lived  after  coming  into 
Egypt  94  years,  and  died  41  years  be- 
fore the  birth  of  Moses,  and  121  before 
the  exode  from  Egypt.    His  age  is  per- 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  149J. 


20  And  a  Amram  took  him  Joche- 
bed  his  father's  sister  to  wife  ;  and 
she  bare  liim  Aaron  and  Moses. 
And  the  years  of  the  life  of  Amram 
were  an  hundred  and  thirty  and 
seven  years. 

21  If  And  b  the  sons  of  Izhar ;  Ko- 
rah,  and  Nepheg,  and  Zichri. 

22  And  c  the  sons  of  Uzzicl ;  Mi- 
shacl,  and  Elzaphan,  and  Zithri. 

23  And  Aaron  took  him  Elisheba 
daughter  of  ^  Amminadab,  sister  of 
Naashon  to  wife  ;  and  she  bare  him 
e  Nadab  and  Abihu,  Eleazar  and 
Ithamar. 

24  And  the  f  sons  of  Korah ;  Assir, 
and  Elkanah,and  Abiasaph:  these 
are  are  the  families  of  the  Korhites. 

ach.  2.  1,  2.  Numb.  26.  59.  b  Numb.  16,  1. 
1  Chron.  6.37,38.  cLev.  10.4.  Numb.  3.  30. 
d  Ruth  4  19,  20.  IChron.  2.  10.  Matt.  1.  4. 
e  Lev.  10.  1.  Numb.  3.  2.  &  26.  60.  1  Chron. 
6.3.  &  24.  1.  f  Numb.  26.  11. 

haps  expressly  stated  in  order  to  afford 
aid  toward  settling  the  precise  time  of 
the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  made  to 
Abraham,  Gen.  15.  13.  It  is  moreover 
worthy  of  notice,  that  the  promise  made 
to  Abraham,  Gen.  15.  16,  that  the  Isra- 
elites should  be  delivered  out  of  Egypt 
'  in  the  fourth  generation'  was  strictly 
fulfilled.  Moses  was  the  son  of  Amram, 
the  son  of  Kohath,  the  son  of  Levi,  the 
son  of  Jacob.  Jacob  went  down  into 
Egypt,  and  Moses  was  in  the  fourth 
generation  from  him. 

20.  Amram  took  him  Jochebed  his 
father^ s  sinter  to  wife.  It  is  obvious 
that  in  giving  this  genealogical  record 
Moses  is  very  far  from  being  prompted 
by  a  vain-glorious  wish  to  laud  his  an- 
cestry ;  for  he  not  only  inserts  in  the 
list  the  names  of  those  whose  charac- 
ters disgraced  it,  but  he  openly  declares 
himself  to  be  the  offspring  of  a  con- 
nexion which  was  alterwards  expressly 
forl)idden  under  the  law,  and  which  was 
probably  even  now  regarded  as  doing 
some  violence  to  the  dictates  of  nature. 
Comp.  Lev.  18.  12.  Numb.  26.  59.    We 


25  And  Eleazar,  Aaron's  son,  took 
him  one  of  the  daughters  of  Putiel 
to  wife  ;  and  g  she  bare  him  Phine- 
has :  these  are  the  heads  of  the  fa- 
tiiers  of  the  Levites,  according  to 
their  families. 

2Q>  These  are  that  Aaron  and  Mo- 
ses, ii  to  whom  the  Lord  said, 
Bring  out  the  children  of  Israel 
from  the  land  of  Egypt  accordmg 
to  their  i  armies. 

27  These  are  they  which  k  spake 
to  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  i  to  bring 
out  the  children  of  Israel  from 
Egypt :  these  are  that  Moses  and 
Aaron. 

28  H  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the 
day  when  the  Lord  spake  unto  Mo- 
ses in  the  land  of  Egypt, 

g  Numb.  25.  7,  11.  Josh.  24.  33.  h  ver.  13. 
'ch.  7.4.  &  12.  17,  51.  Numb.  33.  I.  k  ch. 
b.  1,  3.  &  7.  10.    1  yer.  13.  oh.  32.  7.  &  33.  1. 

Ps.  77.  20. 


may  learn,  however,  from  the  circum- 
stances of  the  parentage  of  Moses  and 
Aaron,  that  the  evil  or  equivocal  con- 
duct of  progenitors  does  not  always 
avail  to  preclude  their  having  a  seed 
w  hich  shall  stand  high  in  the  favor  of 
God. 

23.  Aaron  took  him  Elisheba.  Gr. 
EXL^ndcT,  Elizabeth.  She  was  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  being  sister  to  Naashon, 
a  prince  of  that  tribe.  While  Moses 
thus  dwells  particularly  on  the  geneal- 
ogy of  Aaron,  he  modestly  passes  over 
his  own  in  silence.  Had  he  been  a  man 
of  ambition,  or  his  institutions  been  of 
his  own  devising,  he  would  never  have 
given  this  precedence  to  his  brother's 
family  over  his  own. 

26.  These  are  that  Aaron  and  Moses. 
Heb.  T^'^)2^  X\T\^  J!<iri  hu  Aharon  u 
Mosheh,  this  is  that  Aaroii  and  Moses. 
The  words  of  this  and  the  following 
verse  are  merely  a  more  minute  speci 
fication  of  the  persons  of  Moses  an 
Aaron,  without  being  in  the  least  de- 
signed as  a  note  of  self-cornmendalion. 
We  see  rather  a  tacit  intimation  of  the 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  VII. 


89 


29  That  the  Lord  spnkc  unto  Mo-  CHAPTER  VII. 
seSjSayini::,  '"I  r/m  the  Lord:  "speak      A  ND  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
thou  unto  Pharaoli  king  of  Egypt    -l\.  See,  I  have  made  thee  ^a  god 
all  that  I  say  unto  tliee.                      to  Piiaraoh  :  and  Aaron  thy  bro- 

30  And   Moses   said   hefore    tlic  !  ther  shall  be  ^  thy  prophet. 
Lord,  Behold,  «  I  a/n  of  uncircurn-  j    2  Tiiou  fshalt  speak  all  that  Icom- 
cised  lips,  and  how  shall  Pharaoh    mand  thee:  and  Aaron  thy  brother 

shall  speak  unto  Pharaoh,  that  he 

Jer.  1.  10.     bell.  4.  16.     <=  ch. 


hearken  unto  me  ? 

ni  ver.  2.     "  ver.  11.  ch 
4.  10. 


2.    o  ver.  12.  ch. 


distinguishing  grace  of  heaven  in  raising 
up  two  individuals  from  tlie  humblest 
ranks  of  life,  and  entrusting  them  with 
the  dignified  service  of  delivering  Israel 

from  the  hand  of  Pharaoh. ^  Ac- 

cording  to  their  armies.  That  is,  their 
tribes,  now  growni  so  numerous  as  to 
form  each  an  army.  There  seems  to 
be  intended  also  an  oblique  antithesis 
between  these  armies  of  Israel,  and  the 
tAvo  inconsiderable  men  who  were  ap- 
pointed to  lead  them  ;  as  if  he  would 
insinuate  that  they  Avere  called  to  a 
work  to  which  they  were  in  themselves 
totally  inadequate,  and  one  wliich  they 
could  'never  have  performed  without 
being  miraculously  aided  and  endowed 
from  heaven. 

29.  Saying,  I  am  the  Lord  (Jclio- 
vah).  Nothing  more  could  be  really 
needed  to  countervail  the  fears  and  mis- 
givings of  Moses  than  this  assurance. 
The  name  'Jehovah,'  carries  enough  in 
its  import  to  support  his  ministers  in 
tlieir  severest  trials  and  most  arduous 
labors. 


arh.  4. 
4.15. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
1.  I  have  made  thee  a  god  to  Pha- 
raoh. Heb.  t^n^K  '^'^nro  nathattika 
elohim,  I  have  given  thee  a  god  ;  i.  e. 
set,  ordained,  appointed;  according  to 
a  common  usage  of  the  original  pD  to 
give,  of  which  see  Note  on  Gen.  I.  17. 
Chal. '  I  have  set  thee  a  prince  or  master 
(m  ral))  Arab.  <  I  have  made  thee  a 
lord.'  S  -e  Note  on  Ex.  4.  10.  Moses  I 
was  to  bo  God's  representative  in  this 
affair,  as  magistrates  are  called  gods  I 
b* 


because  they  are  God's  vicegerents. 
He  was  authorized  to  speak  and  act  in 
God's  name,  doing  that  which  was  above 
the  ordinary  power  of  nature,  and  com- 
missioned to  demand  obedience  from  a 

sovereign  prince. IT  Aaron  shall  be 

thy  prophet.  Chal. 'Thine  interpreter.? 
See  Note  on  Gen.  28.  7.  'A  man  who 
is  afraid  to  go  into  the  presence  of  a 
king,  or  a  governor,  or  a  great  man, 
will  seek  an  interview  with  the  minis- 
ter, or  some  principal  character  ;  and 
should  he  be  much  alarmed,  it  will  be 
said,  'Fear  not,  friend;  I  will  make 
you  as  a  god  to  the  king.'  'What!  are 
you  afraid  of  the  collector  ?  fear  not ; 
you  will  be  as  a  god  to  him.'  '  Yes, 
yes,  that  upstart  was  once  much  afraid 
of  the  great  ones  ;  but  now  he  is  like  a 
god  among  them.'  Roberts.  Moses  him- 
self was  to  be  an  oracle,  and  Aaron  a 
moutli,  to  Pharaoh.  Aaron  was  to  be 
to  Moses  what  Moses  himself  was  to 
God.  Tlie  Most  High  does  not  scruple 
to  clothe  his  humblest  servants  with  a 
kind  of  divinity  when  he  would  make 
them  oracles  to  his  people  or  instru- 
ments of  wrath  to  his  enemies. 

2.  Thozi  shalt  speak,  &,c.  That  is,  to 
Aaron.  When  men  speak  by  God's 
command  they  are  to  keep  back  no  part 
of  his  message.  Although  the  name  of 
Aaron  is  not  always  expressly  men- 
tioned in  connexion  with  that  of  Moses 
throughout  the  ensuing  narrative,  yet  it 
is  to  be  inferred,  from  the  charge  now 
given,  that  the  two  brothers  uniformly 
went  into  the  presence  of  Pharaoh  to- 
gether. 


90 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


send  the  children  of  Israel  out  of 
his  land. 

3  And  <^  I  will  liarden  Piiaraoh's 
heart,  and  e  muhiply  my  f  signs 
and    my   wonders   in  the  land  of 

4  But  Pharaoh  shall  not  hearken 
unto  you,  g  that  I  may  lay  my  hand 
uponEgypt,  and  biing  forth  mine 
armies,  and  my  people  the  children 

<Ich.4.  21.  e  eh.  11.0.  'ch.  4.7  5ch.  10. 
1.  &  11.9. 


3.  I  will  harden  Pharaoh's  heart,  &c. 
As  in  the  former  instance,  ch.  4.  15,  21, 
God  announced  to  Moses  the  result,  of 
which  his  message  would  be  the  occa- 
sion, not  the  cause,  so  here  also  he  ex- 
pressly informs  him  that  the  course 
which  he  should  pursue  with  Pharaoh 
would  but  serve  to  '  harden  his  heart,' 
and  set  him  with  more  obstinacy  than 
ever  against  letting  Israel  go.  The  con- 
sequence would  be,  that  it  would  be- 
come necessary  to  display  before  the 
Egyptians  multiplied  and  still  more 
striking  exhibitions  of  the  divine  ma- 
jesty and  power. IT    My  wonders. 

Heb.  ^^rtl'^  mophethai.  The  original 
comes  from  the  root  nS*^  yaphah,  to 
persuade.  It  therefore  properly  implies 
a  persuasive  fact,  event,  or  sign,  effect- 
ed to  produce  conviction  and  to  lead  to 
faith  and  obedience,  whether  the  wonder 
be  strictly  miraculous  or  not. 

4.  But  Pharaoh,  shall  not  hearken 
unto  you.  Heb.  y^'U^  5^^  lo  yishma, 
will  not  hear  ;  i.  e.  will  not  obediently 
give  heed  to  you.  The  received  mode  of 
rendering,  <  shall  not  hearken,'  puts  up- 
on the  passage  an  imperative  air  which 
the  original  does  not  warrant,  or  at  least 
require.  It  is  merely  a  predictive  sen- 
tence.  IT  That  I  may  Jay  mine  hand. 

Heb.  1T1  "^rr^l  vr-nathatti  cfh  yadi, 
and  luill  give  mine  hand.  Chal.  '  And 
will  lay  the  stroke  of  my  strength  (i.  e. 
my  powerful  plague)  upon  the  land  of 

^dTP^-' ^  Bring  forth  mine  armies, 

and  my  people.  Rather,  according  to 
the  original,    '  Mine  hosts,  even    my 


of  Israel,  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
I'  by  great  judgments. 

5  And  the  Egyptians  i  shall  know 
that  I  am  the  Lokd,  when  I  k  stretch 
forth  mine  hand  upon  Egypt,  and 
bring  out  the  children  of  Israel 
from  among  them. 

6  And  Moses  and  Aaron  i  did  as 
the  Lord  cominanded  them,  so 
did  they. 

h  ch.  6.  6.  i  ver.  17.  ch.  8.  22.  &  14.  4,  18. 
Ps.  9.  16.    kch.  3.  20.     iver.  2. 

people,'  as  the  copulative  '  and'  is  want- 
ing. 

6.  The  Egyptians  shall  knoxv,  &c. 
The  great  end  at  which  God  aims  by 
his  penal  judgments  upon  the  world,  is 
to  make  himself  known  to  the  children 
of  men.  His  messengers  may  be  de- 
spised, contradicted,  and  opposed,  but 
it  should  be  a  satisfaction  to  them  to  be 
assured  that  the  divine  w^ord  shall  so 
far  prosper  in  that  whereunto  it  is  sent, 
that  God  shall  finally  be  glorified  in  the 
issue  of  their  embassy.  They  shall  not 
in  the  end  have  reason  to  say  that  they 
have  labored  in  vain,  though  they  would 
rejoice  to  have  been  made  the  instru- 
ments of  mercies  rather  than  of  judg- 
ments. 

6.  Moses  and  Aaron  did,  &c.  These 
words  contain  merely  a  general  affirma- 
tion that  Moses  and  Aaron,  according 
to  what  was  required  of  them,  delivered 
all  the  words,  and  performed  all  the 
miracles  which  are  afterward  recorded 
in  their  various  minute  details.  The 
statement  is  not  prompted  by  a  spirit 
of  self  complacent  boasting,  but  as  Mo- 
ses had  before  frankly  recorded  his  sin- 
ful backwardness  to  engage  in  the  Lord's 
service,  it  was  no  more  than  proper  that 
he  should  pay  this  tribute  to  his  subse- 
quent prompt  fidelity.  It  is  in  effect 
the  same  testimony  which  is  given  by 
the  Psalmist,  Ps.  10.5.28,  '  They  (Moses 
and  Aaron)  rebelled  not  against  his 
word,'  provided  tliis  was  spoken  of 
Moses  and  Aaron,  which  may  be  doubt- 
ed.   See  Note  on  Ex.  9.  14—16. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  VII. 


91 


7  And  Moses  icas '«  fourscore  years 
old,  and  Aaron  fourscore  and  three 
years  old,  when  ihey  spake  unto 
Pharaoli. 

8  H  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Mo- 
ses, and  unto  Aaron,  saying, 

9  When  Pharaoh  shall  speak  unto 
you,  saying,  »  Shew  a  miracle  for 
you:  then  thou  shalt  say  unto  Aa- 

m  Deut.  29.  5.  &  31.  2.  &  31.  7.  Acts  7.  23, 
30.     "Isai.T.  li.     John2.  18.  &6.  30. 


7.  Moses  was  fourscore  years  old,  &c. 
They  both  therefore  had,  in  tlie  eyes  of 
their  countrymen,  all  the  venerablencss 
attached  to  age,  and  their  years  would 
inspire  confidence  that  they  would  do 
nothing  rashly.  Pharaoh  also  might  be 
expected  to  consider  with  more  respect 
a  message  delivered  by  men  of  such  a 
reverend  and  patriarchal  demeanor.  At 
the  same  time,  it  went  to  display  the 
divine  hand  more  illustriously,  that  two 
such  grey  headed  old  men,  should  be 
selected  to  manage  a  business  of  such 
an  immensely  arduous  nature  ;  as  no 
degree  of  vigor  of  constitution  could 
prevent  them  from  feeling  and  evincing 
some  of  the  infirmities  of"  age. 

9.  S'/joir  a  miracle  for  you.  Heb. 
ri*:i>2  D-b  Ij"  tenu  lakem  moph't'th, 
give  a  miracle  for  yourselves.  The 
tone  is  supposed  to  be  supercilious  and 
haughty,  as  though  it  were  mucli  more 
important  for  their  sakes  tlun  'or  his 
that  a  miracle  should  be  wrought.  It 
is  taken  for  granted  however  that  Pha- 
raoh would  demand  a  miraculous  testi- 
mony in  proof  of  their  commission  from 
God.  The  implication  involved  in  this 
is  plainly,  that  such  a  demand  is  in  it- 
self reasonable  ;  and  although  Pharaoh 
probably  had  no  desire  to  be  convinced, 
but  was  rather  in  hopes  that  no  miracle 
would  be  wrought,  and  thus  his  dis- 
obedience be  justified  to  himself,  yet  it 
is  obvious  that  the  Scriptures  go  all 
along  on  the  admitted  principle  that 
the  performance  of  miracles  is  the  true 
seal  of  a  divine  commission.  See  on 
this  subject  the  Note  on  Ex.  4.  o.  Those 


ron,  o  Take  thy  rod,  and  cast  it  be- 
fore Pharaoh,  and  it  shall  become 
a  serpent. 

10  y\  And  Moses  and  Aaron  Avent 
in  unto  Pharaoh,  and  they  did  so 
p  as  the  Lord  had  commanded :  and 
Aaron  cast  down  his  rod  before 
Pharaoh,  and  before  his  servants, 
and  it  q  became  a  serpent. 


'ch.4.2,  i: 


vcr. '.).     q  oil.  4.  3. 


who  profess  to  speak  to  men  in  the 
name  of  God  may  expect  to  liave  their 
authority  sifted,  and  though  they  may 
not  now  be  able  to  silence  cavils  by  the 
exhibition  of  miraculous  power,  yet  they 
may,  by  a  pure  doctrine  and  a  blame- 
less life,  leave  objectors  without  ex- 
cuse.  H  And  it  shall  become  a  scr- 

pent.  Heb.  y^^V^  %T^  yehi  letannin, 
it  shall  be  to  a  serpent ;  i.  e.  a  large  ser- 
pent, a  dragon  (Gr.  6f)a>c'.>i>,  a  dragon). 
On  the  import  of  the  original  word 
'^"'jn  tannin,  sec  Note  on  Gen.  1.  21, 
The  word  here  is  not  the  same  with 
that  which  occurs  ch.  4.  3,  though,  in 
some  instances,  probably  sjnionymous 
with  it.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  rod 
was  changed  into  a  crocodile,  an  ani- 
mal abounding  in  Egypt,  and  ajiparent- 
ly  spoken  of,  in  some  cases,  as  an  em- 
blem of  its  persecuting  rulers.  Ps.  74. 
13,  'Thou  didst  divide  the  sea  by  thy 
strength  (the  Red  Sea):  thou  brakest 
the  heads  of  the  dragons  (Heb.  fi^j'^D 
tanninim)  in  the  waters  ;'  i.  e,  thou  de- 
stroyedst  the  Egyptian  power.  See  also 
Ezck.29.  3. 

10.  Aaron  cast  down  his  rod,  &c. 
Though  not  expressly  asserted,  yet  it 
is  to  be  presumed,  that  a  sign  was  de- 
manded by  Pharaoh.  The  command  to 
Moses  and  Aaron  to  work  the  miracle 
was  predicated  on  the  contingency  of 
Pharaoh's  asking  it,  and  we  must  pre- 
sume that  this  condition  occurred.  But 
the  sacred  writers  study  the  extremest 
brevity  upon  all  points  tliat  do  not  pos- 
itively require  specification.  Up  to 
this  point  Moses  and  Aaron  had  simply 


92 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491 


11  Thcnrharaoli  also  Tailed  the 
wise  men,  and  s  the  sorcerers :  now 

r  Gen.  41.8.    »2Tim.3.  S. 

dcHvercd  their  message,  their  inst7-uc- 
tions,  to  Pharaoh ;  the  time  had  now 
come  for  them  to  produce  their  cre- 
dentials. 

11.  Fharaoh  called  the  wise  men. 
Ileb.  C^nirri  hakamim,  from  tllin  hak- 
am,  to  be  wise,  to  act  wisely ;  and  ap- 
plied in  its  adjective  form  by  the  ori- 
entals to  those  that  practised  magical 
arts  and  incantations,  from  their  being 
supposed  to  know  more,  to  be  wisei-, 
than  the  mass  of  men.  The  Gr.  here 
has  oMipirTTni,  sophists;  i.  e.  philoso- 
phers,   or    professors  of   science. 

IT  Sorcerers.  Heb.  d'^S'iL^lD^D  mekash- 
shephim,  from  tj'il'^  kashaph,  to  nse 
inchantmcnts  for  magical  purposes; 
equivalent  to  sorcerers,  jugglers,  wiz- 
ards. GY'ihuoiiaKov:,  conjurors  by  drugs. 

IT  Magicians.    Heb.  tl'^?2t3nn  har- 

tummim.  On  this  word  see  Note  on 
Gen.  41.  S.  It  is  here  evidently  used  in 
a  general  sense,  comprehending  under 
it  the  xcise  men  and  the  sorcerers  men- 
tioned above,  fromwliom  the  magicians 
were  not  a  different  class.  The  Gr. 
renders  the  term  variously  by  c^riynrai 
interpreters  or  explainers  of  something 
secret,  trr.i'n*'  i,  inchanters,  and  fapija- 
Kn(,  drug-sorcerers.  In  the  Lat.  it  is 
often  explained  by  gencthliaci  or  sapi- 
entes  nativilatum,  casters-up  of  nativ- 
ities, and  is  joined  with  astrologers  and 
soothsayers,  Dan.  1 .  20.— 2.  10,  27.-4.  7. 

Having  thus  defined,  as  well  as  we 
are  able,  the  import  of  the  original 
terms,  two  important  questions  natur- 
ally suggest  themselves  for  considera- 
tion ; — (1)  What  was  Pharaoli's  design 
in  calling  tliese  magicians  into  liis  pre- 
sence ?  and  (2)  What  do  we  learn  from 
tlie  sacred  text  tliat  they  actually  did  ? 
The  subject  is  one  which  has  been  very 
largely  discussed  and  very  variously 
understood,  and  at  best  is  encompassed 


the  magicians  of  Egypt,  they  also 
t  did  in  like  manner  with  their  en 
chantments. 

t  ver.22.ch.8.  7,  18. 


with  difficulties  of  no  easy  solution. 
One  of  the  most  elaborate  and  satis- 
factory of  the  numerous  tractates  to 
which  this  part  of  the  Mosaic  history 
has  given  rise,  is  that  of  Farmer  in  his 
'Dissertation  on  Miracles,'  a  work  which 
has  supplied  us  Avith  many  important 
hints  in  the  ensuing  remarks. 

First,  as  to  Pharaoh's  design  in  send- 
ing for  the  magicians,  tliere  is  no  good 
reason  for  supposing  that  the  object  was 
to  engage  the  gods  of  Egypt  to  work 
miracles  in  direct  opposition  to  the  God 
of  Israel,  and  thereby  to  invalidate  Mo- 
ses' divine  commission.  In  that  case 
they  would  obviously  have  endeavored 
to  counteract  the  aim  of  Jehovah  and 
not  to  promote  it.  Instead  of  joining 
with  the  God  of  the  Hebrews  in  bring- 
ing down  heavier  judgments  and  adding 
to  the  direful  plagues  already  inflicted^ 
they  would  liave  sought  to  have  had 
them  diminished  and  removed.  Instead 
of  desiring  them  to  turn  more  water  into 
blood,  they  would  have  besought  them 
to  restore  the  corrupted  waters  to  their 
natural  state.  Instead  of  entreating 
them  to  multiply  frogs,  their  prayer 
would  have  been  for  them  to  be  removed 
or  destroyed,  as  it  would  certainly  be 
as  easy  to  do  the  one  as  the  other. 
The  fact  seems  to  have  been,  that  Pha- 
raoh's first  thought  was  that  Moses 
was  nothing  more  than  a  magician,  and 
that  he  sent  for  his  magicians  in  order  to 
learn  from  them  whether  the  sign  given 
bjr  Moses  was  truly  supernatural,  or 
only  such  as  their  art  Avas  able  to  ac- 
complish. The  question  therefore  was 
not  whether  the  gods  of  Egypt  were  su- 
perior to  the  God  of  Israel,  or  whether 
evil  spirits  could  perform  greater  mira- 
cles than  those  which  Moses  performed 
by  the  assistance  of  Jehovah  ;  but  whe- 
ther the  works  of  Moses  were  proper 


B.  C.  ll'Jl.] 


ciiArTEPw  yn. 


93 


proofs  that  the  God  ol'  Israel  was  Je- 
hovah, the  only  sovereign  of  nature,  and 
consequently  whether  Moses  was  acting 
by  his  commission.  This  was  to  be 
determined  by  the  result  of  their  efforts 
to  perform  the  same  extraordinary  acts 
as  Moses  did  ;  and  had  they  succeeded, 
the  effect  would  have  been  the  same  as 
if  Baal  had  answered  his  votaries  by 
fire  ;  it  would  have  followed  of  course 
that  Moses,  whatever  he  might  pre- 
tend, was  a  magician  only,  and  not  a 
divinely  commissioned  messenger,  and 
also  that  Jehovah  was  not  the  only 
sovereign  of  nature.  Having  been  sum- 
moned therefore  for  this  purpose  into 
the  royal  presence,  the  question  arises, 
Secondly,  as  to  the  true  nature  of  the 
magicians'  performances.  Were  they 
real  miracles,  and  if  so  by  what  power 
effected?  Or  were  they  nothing  more 
than'dextrous  feats  of  juggling  or  sleight 
of  hand  ?  On  these  points  various  opin- 
ions have  been  held,  each  supported  by 
an  array  of  reasoning  more  or  less  plau- 
sible. Some  have  supposed  that  the 
magicians  were  aided  by  evil  spirits  in 
the  performance  of  the  miracles ;  and 
that  these  spirits  were  allowed  by  God 
to  exercise  a  supernatural  power  up  to 
a  certain  point,  when  they  were  sud- 
denly arrested  and  confounded  in  their 
impoteucy,  and  made  to  give  a  more 
signal  triumph  to  the  cause  of  Omnipo- 
tence and  truth.  But  to  this  it  is  we 
think  validly  objected  that  the  Scrip- 
tures, properly  understood,  never  ascribe 
to  evil  spirits  the  power  of  working  real 
miracles.  Whatever  wonders  they  may 
be  capable  of  effecting,  a  miracle  strict- 
ly so  termed,  invariably  requires  and  im- 
plies a  divine  interposition,  as  other- 
wise it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive 
how  a  miracle  should  be  a  proof  of  a 
commission  from  God.  Others  there- 
fore have  supposed  that  although  the 
magicians  pretended  to  have  communi- 
cation with  evil  spirits  and  employed 
their  arts  accordingly,  yet  that  God  was 
pleased  to  interpose  in  concurrence  with 


thiMr  enchantments,  and  work  a  real 
miracle,  contrary  perhaps  to  their  ex- 
pectations ;  while  yet  his  design  was 
by  working  a  still  greater  one  on  the 
side  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  to  show  the 
vast  superiority  of  his  power  over  theirs. 
This  they  would  infer  of  course  when 
they  saw  for  instance  Aaron's  rod  swal- 
lowing up  their  own,  and  consequently 
both  they  and  Pharaoh  would  be  inex- 
cusable in  refusing  to  acknowledge  the 
agency  of  Omnipotence.  But  to  this 
again  it  may  be  replied,  that  the  proof 
thus  adduced  was  not  absolutely  con- 
clusive to  their  minds,  that  no  power 
but  that  of  Jehovah  could  work  mira- 
cles. How  was  the  transformation  of 
Moses'  rod  a  demonstration  of  his  be- 
ing sent  by  Jehovah,  when  the  magicians 
apparently  produced  the  very  same  cre- 
dentials of  a  supernatural  ability  ?  Nay, 
the  magicians,  in  the  first  contest,  if  a 
real  miracle  was  wrought  on  their  side 
no  matter  by  what  power,  would  appear 
not  only  to  have  imitated,  but  to  have 
exceeded  Moses  ;  having  the  advantage 
over  him  in  the  number  of  their  mira- 
cles. Tor  to  human  view  they  turned 
not  only  one  rod  into  a  serpent,  which 
was  all  that  Moses  had  hitherto  done, 
but  they  turned  their  several  rods  into 
serpents.  Now  why  was  Moses  to  be 
credited  on  account  of  a  single  miracle, 
if  it  were  contradicted  and  overborne  by 
several  miracles  fully  equal  to  it  ?  After 
the  conversion  of  the  rods,  it  is  true, 
Moses'  serpent  swallowed  up  those  of 
the  magicians  ;  but  this  after  victory, 
however  splendid,  could  not  retrieve  the 
credit  of  the  former  defeat.  It  could 
not  establish  the  validity  of  the  ])roof, 
from  the  change  of  his  rod,  which  he 
had  appealed  to  in  the  beginning  as  a  de- 
cisive testimony  in  favor  of  his  claims. 
We  seem  therefore  to  be  shut  up  to  the 
necessity  of  seeking  for  a  still  more 
satisfactory  solution  of  the  ditHculties 
involved  in  the  case  of  the  Egyptian  ma- 
gicians. Our  conclusion,  on  the  whole, 
is  the  same  with  that  of  Dr.  Dwight,  as 


94 


EXODUS. 


[B.C.  149J. 


expressed  in  his  'Theology'  (Serm.LX, 
on  the  Miracles  of  Christ),  that  the  ma- 
gicians wrought  no  miracles.  All  that 
they  did  was  to  busy  themselves  with 
their  enchantments,  by  which  every  man 
now  knows  that,  although  the  weak  and 
credulous  may  be  deceived,  miracles 
cannot  possibly  be  accomplished. 

We  proceed,  therefore,  to  state  the 
grounds  of  this  interjjretation,   and  in 
doing  it  we  regret  that,  from  its  de- 
pending so  entirely  upon  the  idiomatic 
structure  of  the  Hebrew,  the  mere  Eng- 
lish reader  will  not  perhaps   be  able 
fully  to  appreciate  its  force.    We  will 
endeavor  to  make  it,  however,  if  not 
demonstrable,  at  least  intelligible. — It 
is  a  canon  of  interpretation  of  frequent 
use  in  the  exposition  of  the  sacred  wri- 
tings, that  verbs  of  action  sometimes 
signify  merely  the  u-ill  and  endeavor  to 
do  the  action  in  question.     Thus  Ezek. 
24.  13,  'I  have  purified  thee,  and  thou 
wast  not  purged  ;'  i.  e.  I  have  endeavor- 
ed, used  means,  been  at  pains,  to  purify 
thee.     John  5.  44,  'How  can  ye  believe 
which  receive  honor  one  of  another ;' 
i.  e.  endeavor  to  receive.     Rom.  2.  4. 
'The  goodness  of  God  leadeth  thee  to 
repentance  ;'  i.  e.  endeavors  or  tends  to 
lead  thee.    Amos,  9.  3,  'Though  they 
be  hid  from  my  sight  in  the  bottom  of 
the  sea ;'  i.  e.  though  they  aim  to  be 
hid.    1  Cor.  10.  33, '  I  please  all  men  ;' 
i.  e.  endeavor  to    please.      Gal.  5.  4, 
'Whosoever  of  you  are  justified  by  the 
law  ;'  i.  e.  seek  and  endeavor  to  be  justi- 
fied.    Ps.  69.  4,  '  They  that  destroy  me 
are  mighty  ;'  i.  e.  that  endeavor  to  de- 
stroy me.     Eng.  '  That  u-ovid  destroy 
me.'     Acts,  7.  26,  'And  set  them  at  one 
again ;'    i.  e.  wished  and   endeavored. 
Eng. '  u-ould  have  set  them.'     The  pas- 
sage before  us  we  consider  as  exhibiting 
a  usage  entirely  analogous.    'They  also 
did  in  like  manner  with  their  enchant- 
ments,' i.  e.  they  endeavored  to  do  in 
like  manner ;  just  as  in  ch.  8.  18,  it  is 
said,  'And  the  magicians  did  so  with 
their  enchantments  to  bring  forth  lice, 


but  they  could  not ;'   the  words  being 
precisely  the  same  in  both  instances. 
Adopting  this  construction,  we  suppose 
that  the  former  clause  of  verse  12  should 
be  rendered,  '  For  they  cast  down  every 
man  his  rod,  that  they  might  become 
serpents  ;'    which    the   Hebrew  reader 
w'ill  perceive  to  be  a  rendering  precisely 
parallel  to  that  w'hich  occurs  ch.  6.  11, 
'  Speak  unto  Pharaoh  that  he   let   the 
children  of  Israel  go ;'   Heb.  'And  he 
shall  let  go.'     So  also  ch.  7.  2,  '  Shall 
speak  unto  Pharaoh,  that  he  send  ;'  Heb. 
'And  he  shall  send.'     The  magicians 
cast  down  their  rods  that  they  might 
undergo  a  similar  transmutation  with 
that  of  Moses,  but  it  is  not  expressly 
said    that   were    so  changed,  and  we 
therefore  incline  to  place  their  discom- 
fiture in  the  loss  of  their  rods,  those  in- 
struments wdth  which  they  had  vainly 
hoped  to  compete  with  Moses.     If  it  be 
contended  that  there  was  some  kind  of 
change  produced  on  the  magicians'  rods, 
but  that  it  was  effected  by  feats  of  jug- 
gling, or  legerdemain,  and  amounted  in 
fact  merely  to  an  optical  illusion,  we 
do  not  particularly  object  to  this  con- 
struction, inasmuch  as  it  admits  our 
main  position,  that  there  was  no  real 
miracle  wrought  by  or  through  the  ma- 
gicians.    Perhaps  on  the  whole  it  may 
be  considered  as  the  most  probable  hy- 
pothesis;   especially  as   the   narrative 
does  not  require   us  to  understand  all 
these  various  incidents  as  having  oc- 
curred at  one  and  the  same  intervicAV. 
It  seems  that  it  was  after  the  miracle 
wrought  upon  Aaron's  rod  that  the  ma- 
gicians  were   called  for    by   Pharaoh, 
and  as  they  would  learn  from  the  sum- 
mons itself  the  object  for  which  they 
were   called   into   the   royal   presence, 
as  well  as  the  character  of  the  miracle 
that    had    been  wrought,    they  would 
of  course  have  time   to   make  all  the 
necessary  preparations  for  playing  ofi* 
an    illusion    upon    the    senses    of   the 
spectators  by  their  semblances  of  ser- 
pents. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  VII. 


95 


12  For  they  cast  doAvn  every  man 
his  rod,  and  they  became  serpents : 
but  Aaron's  rod  swallowed  up  their 
rods. 

13  And  he  hardened  Pharaoh's 
heart  that  he  hearkened  not  unto 
them  ;  u  as  the  Lord  had  said. 

14  H  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
ses, X  Pharaoh's  heart  is  hardened, 
he  refuseth  to  let  the  people  go. 

15  Get  thee  unto  Pharaoh  in  the 

"  ch.  4.  21.  ver.  4.      x  ch.  8.  15.  .fe  10.  1, 

20,  27. 


13.  And  he  hardened  Pharaoh's  hea7-t. 
Heb.  n:>-iD  n^  ptn^l  va-yehezak  lib 
Pharoh,  and  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  wax- 
ed strong,  or  hardened  itself.  The  ex- 
pression in  the  original  is  precisely  the 
same  with  that  wliich  occurs  v.  22,  of 
this  chapter,  and  is  there  rendered, 
'And  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened.' 
Why  it  is  translated  differently  here,  it 
is  not  easy  to  say. 

14.  Is  hardened.  Heb.  I^i  kabed, 
is  heavy  ^  an  instance  of  the  unhappy 
usage  by  which  our  translators  have 
uniformly  employed  the  word  '  harden' 
to  represent  several  different  words  in 
the  original.     See  Note  on  Ex.  4.  21. 

15.  Get  thee  unto  Pharaoh,  &c.  We 
here  enter  upon  the  account  of  the  ten 
successive  plagues,  to  which  the  Most 
High  had  recourse  in  order  to  liumble 
and  break  the  refractory  spirit  of  Pha- 
raoh. Hitherto  a  miracle  had  been 
wrought,  but  no  judgment  inflicted. 
The  conversion  of  the  rod  into  a  ser- 
pent had  given  proof  of  the  tremendous 
power  with  which  God's  messengers 
were  armed,  but  no  injury  having  en- 
sued J"  no  conviction  or  relenting  had 
been  produced.  Another  step  was  there- 
fore now  to  be  taken  in  the  progress  of 
the  divine  visitations.  The  rod  was 
now  to  begin  its  chastising  work,  and 
though  remaining  unchanged  to  become 
a  rod  of  scorpions  to  tlie  whole  nation. 
As  if  there  were  a  probability  that  he 
wpuld  not  be  admitted  into  the  pres- 


morning ;  lo,  he  goeth  out  unto  the 
water,  and  tliou  shalt  stand  by  the 
river's  brink  against  he  come:  and 
y  the  rod  which  was  turned  to  a  ser- 
pent shalt  thou  take  in  thine  liand. 
16  And  thou  shalt  say  unto  him, 
z  The  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews 
hath  sent  me  unto  thee,  saying.  Let 
my  people  go,  a  that  they  may  serve 
me  in  the  wilderness:  and  behold, 
hitherto  thou  wouldest  not  hear. 

y  ch.  4.  2,  3.  &  ver.  10.     z  ch.  3.  18.    »  ch.  3 
12.  18.  «&  5.  1,3. 

ence-chamber,  or  room  of  state,  where 
audience  was  usually  given  to  embas- 
sadors, he  is  directed  to  meet  him  by 
the  river's  brink,  wliither  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  resorting  in  the  morning,  either 
to  perform  his  ablutions  or  his  devo- 
tions, or  both  ;  as  there  is  clear  evi- 
dence that  the  Nile  was  anciently  dei- 
fied as  the  source  of  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  of  Egypt,  and  that  it  had  its  ap- 
pointed priests,  festivals,  and  sacrifices. 
Indeed  at  the  present  day,  under  the 
sterner  system  of  the  Moslem  religion, 
the  reverence  entertained  for  the  Nile 
exhibits  a  tendency  towards  the  same 
superstitious  regard,  as  it  is  called  '  the 
Most  Holy  River,'  and  its  benefits  are 
still  celebrated  by  a  variety  of  religious 
rites.  As  this  river  was  to  be  the  sub- 
ject of  the  first  plague,  Moses  was  or- 
dered to  meet  Pharaoh  on  its  banks  and 
there,  with  the  intimidating  rod  in  lais 
hand  which  had  so  recently  triumphed 
over  the  rods  of  the  magicians,  to  give 
him  a  new  summons  to  surrender,  and 
in  case  of  a  refusal  to  announce  the 
coming  judgment.  He  would  thus  have 
no  possible  pretence  for  ascribing  the 
effect,  when  it  came,  to  any  other  than 
the  true  cause.  It  was  affording  him, 
moreover,  another  fair  opportunity  to 
forego  his  obstinacy  and  comply  with 
the  divine  mandate,  for  God  is  long- 
suffering,  not  willing  that  any  should 
perish,  but  that  all  sliould  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth. 


96 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


17  Thus  saith  the  Lokd,  in  this 
b  ihou  shah  know  that  1  am  llie 
Lord:  behold,  1  will  smite  with  the 

b  ch.  5.  2.  ver.  5. 

17.  In  this  shalt  thou  laww,  &c.  Heb. 
riitTn  bezothfin  or  by  this ;  i.  e.  this  mir- 
acle about  to  be  wrought.  Pharaoh  had 
before,  ch.  5.  2,  contemptuously  asked, 
'Who  is  the  Lord,  that  I  should  obey 
his  voice  to  let  Israel  go  ?  I  know  not 
the  Lord,  neither  will  I  let  Israel  go.' 
He  was  now  to  be  instructed  to  his  cost 

on  this  head. IT  I  will  smite  with  the 

rod  that  is  in  mine  hand.  As  these  are 
probably  to  be  considered  the  words 
of  Jehovah  himself  they  present  a  strik- 
ing example  of  the  phraseology  by 
which  an  agent  is  said  to  do  that  wliich 
he  commands  or  procures  to  be  done. 
The  smiting  rod  was  said  to  be  in  God's 
hand,  because  it  was  in  tlie  hand  of  Mo- 
ses who  was  acting  by  his  orders  and 
in  his  name.  Thus,  Hos.  8.  1,2,  'I  have 
written  to  him  the  great  things  of  my 
law  ;'  i.  e.  have  ordered  or  procured 
them  to  be  written.  Yet  it  is  proper 
to  observe  that  the  Jewish  and  many 
Christian  commentators  consider  these 
as  more  truly  the  words  of  Moses  speak- 
ing in  the  name  of  God,  whose  repre- 
sentative he  was  expressly  declared  to 
be  to  Pharaoh,  v.  1.  The  rod  was  liter- 
nlly  in  the  hand  of  Aaron,  but  Moses, 
they  contend,  might  properly  say  it  was 
in  his  hand  because  he  was  principal  in 
the  affair  and  merely  used  the  ministry 
of  Aaron  in  performing  the  miraculous 
■works.  Compare  Mark,  15.  45,  'And 
when  he  (Pilate)  knew  it  of  the  centu- 
rion, he  gave  the  body  to  Joseph  ;'  with 
Mat.  27.  .08,  '  Then  Pilate  commanded 
the  body  to  be  delivered.^  As  the  sense 
is  plain,  it  is  not  very  material  to  whom 
the  words  are  most  immediately  refer- 
red. Throughout  the  transaction  God, 
Moses,  and  Aaron  acted  in  such  entire 
concert  that  they  are  considered  as  one, 
though  all  the  efficiency  exerted  is  of 
course  to  be  referred  exclusively  to  Om- 


rod  that  j.s  in  my  hand  upon  the 
waters  which  arc  in  the  river,  and 
c  they  shall  be  turned  ^  to  blood. 

c  ch.  4.  0.     d  Rev.  IR.  4,  6. 


nipotencc. IT   They  shall  be  turned 

to  blood.  As  precisely  the  same  expres- 
sion in  the  original  occurs  Joel,  3.  4, 
'The  moon  shall  be  turned  into  blood,^ 
where  all  that  can  be  understood  is  that 
it  should  be  turned  info  the  color  of 
blood,  some  have  supposed  that  nothing 
more  is  meant  in  the  present  case  than 
that  the  waters  were  to  be  made  to  as- 
sume  a  preternatural  red  and  blood-like 
color.  This,  they  intimate,  may  have 
been  done  by  miraculously  impregna- 
ting the  water  with  some  substance  capa- 
ble of  producing  that  efi'ect,  and  which 
should  render  it  at  the  same  time  des- 
tructive to  animal  life.  But  the  case  is 
very  different  in  regard  to  a  solid  and  a 
fluid  body  ;  as  also  in  respect  to  a  high 
ly  figurative  mode  of  speech  appropri- 
ate to  pro])hecy,  and  the  language  of 
simple  historical  narrative.  As  to  the 
change  of  the  moon,  we  perceive  at  once 
that  nothing  more  than  an  optical  illu- 
sion is  the  effect  intended  to  be  des- 
cribed ;  but  in  the  case  of  the  river,  if 
the  text  declares  it,  no  good  reason  can 
be  assigned  why  the  mass  of  waters 
should  not  be  converted  to  real  blood  as 
well  as  to  any  other  fluid  substance, 
since  it  is  an  operation  equally  easy  to 
Omnipotence,  and  since  we  can  much 
more  readily  conceive  of  a  river  of  blood 
becoming  putrescent  than  of  common 
water,  which  had  merely  undergone  dis- 
coloration. We  are  constrained  there- 
fore to  take  tlie  words  in  llieir  literal 
sense  as  announcing  that  Pharaoh  and 
his  people  should  behold  their  delicious 
and  venerated  river  become  a  vast  roll- 
ing stream  of  blood,  pure  blood,  no 
doubt  florid  and  high-colored,  exhibiting 
a  spectacle  wliich  they  could  not  con- 
temi:)late,  nor  we  conceive,  without  emo- 
tions of  horror.  'Qui  o{ i\\G  actual  miracle 
the  sequel  informs  us  more  particularly. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  VII. 


97 


18  And  the  fish  that  is  m  the  river 
shall  die,  and  the  river  shall  stink  : 
and  the  Eijvplians  shall  «  loathe  to 
drink  of  the  water  of  the  river. 

19  H  And  the  Lord  spake  unto 
Moses,  Say  unto  Aaron,  Take  thy 
rod,  and  f stretch  out  thine  hand 
upon  the  waters  of  Egpyt,  upon 
their  streams,  upon  their  rivers,  and 
upon  their  ponds,  and  upon  all  their 
pools  of  water,  that  they  may  be- 

ever.24.  f  ch.  8.  5,  6,  10.  &9.22.&10.  12, 
21.  &  14.21,  26. 


18.  The  fish  that  is  in  the  river  shall 
die.  '  We  remember  the  fish  which  we 
did  eat  in  Egypt  freely,'  said  the  mur- 
muring Israelites  in  the  wilderness, 
Num.  11.  5;  from  which  it  is  obvious 
that  fish  constituted  no  small  part  of 
the  food  of  the  country.  But  the  chang- 
ing of  the  waters  was  to  be  the  death  of 
the  fish,  so  that  the  means  of  satisfying 
hunger  as  well  as  of  quenching  thirst 

would  be  abridged  to  them. IT  Shall 

loathe  to  drink  of  the  water.  Heb.  155^2 
mtri^b  "''^"  lishtoth,  shall  be  wearied  to 
drink;  i.  e.  wearied  by  digging  round 
about  the  river  for  water.  The  original 
comprehensively  expresses  both  the  dis- 
tasteful loathesomeness  of  the  bloody 
water  and  the  trouble  and  pains  to  which 
they  were  subjected  in  obtaining  that 
which  was  pure.  Gr.  'They  shall  not 
be  able  to  drink  the  water  of  the  river.' 

19.  Stretch  out  thine  hand,  &c.  The 
fearful  plague  was  not  to  be  confined  to 
the  ri\'^r.  By  stretching  out  his  arm, 
and  waving  his  rod  in  different  direc- 
tions over  the  land,  the  judgment  was 
to  become,  as  it  were,  universal.  The 
various  branches  of  the  Nile,  the  canals 
derived  from  it,  the  ponds  and  reser- 
voirs, all  were  to  exhibit  the  spectacle 
of  the  same  hideous  and  nauseous  trans- 
formation ! IT  In  vessels   of  wood 

and  in  vessels  o( stone.  Heb.  'In  woods 
and  in  stones  ;'  by  which  is  probably 
meant  not  so  much  the  vessels  in  do- 
mestic use,  as  the  cisterns,  tanks,  and 

Vol.  I  9 


come  blood  :  and  that  there  may  be 
blood  throughout  all  the  land  of 
Egypt,  both  in  rcise/s  o/ wood,  and 
in  vessels  of  stone. 
20  And  Moses  and  Aaron  did  so, 
as  the  Lord  commanded ;  and  he 
g  lifted  up  the  rod  and  smote  the 
waters  that  icere  in  the  river,  in  the 
sight  of  Pharaoh,  and  in  the  sight 
of  his  servants;  and  all  the  •>  waters 
that  ivere  in  the  river  were  turned 
into  blood. 

gch.  17.5.     li  Ps.  78.  44.  <t  105.  29. 


Other  larger  receptacles  constructed  of 
wood  or  stone  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
taining the  water  which  run  into  theiri 
on  the  overflowing  of  the  Nile.  As  they 
have  no  rain  in  Egypt,  and  the  water  of 
their  wells  is  very  bad,  the  river  was 
their  great  dependence  for  water. 

20.  And  Moses  and  Aaron  did  so,  &c. 
The  event  answered  to  the  prediction 
and  the  performance  of  Moses  and 
Aaron.  That  noble  river,  the  pride  and 
ornament  of  their  country,  wliich  alone 
gave  fertility  to  its  soil  and  beauty  to 
its  scenery,  now  no  longer  pours  its  na- 
tive refreshing  stream  along  its  banks, 
but  flows  in  thickened  blood,  casting  up 
its  perished  inhabitants,  and  tainting 
the  air  with  its  noisome  stench  !  la 
order  to  appreciate  more  justly  the  ap- 
palling nature  of  this  judgment,  we 
must  bear  in  mind,  not  only  lhe/er/i7- 
izing  properties  of  the  Nile,  but  the 
deliciousness  of  its  waters  as  a  bever- 
age. By  the  universal  consent  of  all 
who  have  drank  of  this  river,  it  is  un- 
rivalled in  this  respect  by  any  waters 
in  the  world  which  arc  not  medicinal. 
Such  is  its  character  now,  and  such 
doubtless  it  was  then.  How  terrible 
the  privation  for  a  whole  people  to  be 
thus  deprived  at  once  of  the  blessing 
and  the  luxury  of  such  a  river  !  But  the 
event  teaches  us  how  easily  an  aveng- 
ing God  can  not  only  cut  off  our  most 
necessary  supplies,  but  also  convert 
our  choicest  comforts  to  our  greatest 


98 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


21  And  the  fi?h  that  icas  in  the 
river  died  ;  and  the  river  stank,  and 
the  Egyptians  'could  not  drink  of 
tlie  water  of  the  river;  and  there 
Avas  hlood  throughout  all  tlie  land 
ot"  Egypt. 

<;2  k  And  the  magicians  of  Egypt 
did  so  with  their  enchantments: 
and  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened, 
neither  did  he  hearken  unto  them; 
las  the  Lord  had  said. 

23  And  Pharaoh  turned  and  went 

i  ver.  18.    kver.  11. 


plagues.  And  not  only  so.  We  see  in 
this  judgment  the  marks  of  a  twofold 
retribution  ;  first,  for  idolatry,  and  sec- 
ondly, for  cruelty.  The  river  of  Egypt 
was  the  idol  of  Egypt.  They  vainly 
boasted  that  by  reason  of  their  river 
they  were  independent  of  the  rains  of 
heaven.  They  paid  to  that  cherished 
stream  the  homage  which  was  due  to  its 
Creator.  They  ascribed  to  it  the  bless- 
ings which  they  owed  to  him.  It  was 
fitting  therefore  that  he  should  'smite 
it  in  the  seven  streams  thereof;'  that  he 
should  make  that  a  loathing,  a  scourge, 
and  a  curse,  which  they  had  made  an 
idol.  '  Men  are  sure  to  be  punished 
most  and  soonest  in  that  which  they 
make  a  corrival  with  God.'  Bp.  Hall. 
But  this  was  not  all.  It  was  a  signifi- 
cant as  well  as  a  righteous  plague. 
They  had  stained  the  waters  of  that 
river  with  the  blood  of  the  Hebrew  in- 
nocents, and  now  he  gave  them  blood 
to  drink,  for  they  were  worthy.  Rev. 
16.  6.  Its  cruel  lord  is  now  punished 
by  seeing  its  channel  filled,  from  shore 
to  shore,  with  one  crimson  tide  !  So 
signally  are  the  instruments  of  sin  often 
made  the  instruments  of  punishment ! 

22.  The  magicians  did  so  with  their 
enchantments.  That  is,  as  before,  at- 
tempted to  do  so.  It  will  be  observed 
tliat  notliing  is  said  of  the  effect  of  the 
magicians'  attempt  to  imitate  this  mir- 
acle. Whether  they  succeeded  in  mul- 
tiplying the  bloody  fluid  is  not  affirmed, 


into  his  house,  neither  did  he  set 
his  heart  to  this  also. 

24  And  all  the  Egyptians  digged 
round  about  the  river  for  water  to 
drink  ;  for  they  could  not  druik  of 
the  water  of  tlie  river. 

25  And  seven  days  were  fulfilled 
after  that  the  Lord  had  smitten 
the  river. 

CHAPTER  VIIL 

AND  the  Lord,  spake  unto  Mo- 
ses, Go  unto  Pharaoh,  and  say 

1  ver.  3. 


though  even  if  they  did,  it  was  evident- 
ly on  so  small  a  scale,  as  not  to  afford 
any  plausible  pretext  for  disparaging 
the  unspeakably  greater  miracle  of  Mo- 
ses. As  Moses  had  already  turned  the 
running  and  standing  waters  of  Egypt 
into  blood,  they  could  only  procure 
small  quantities  by  digging  below  the 
surface.  But  what  was  this  compared 
with  the  immensity  of  the  work  wrought 
by  Moses  ?  Indeed  the  shallowness  of 
their  pretences  was  palpable  in  their 
proposing  to  show  their  skill  by  increas- 
ing an  evil  which  was  already  intoler- 
able. If  they  had  had  any  confidence 
in  their  own  art  they  would  rather  have 
attempted  to  turn  the  blood  into  water 
than  the  reverse.  But  they  chose  to  ape 
the  miracle  of  Moses,  and  though  there 
is  no  evidence  of  their  succeeding  even 
in  this,  yet  the  result  went  to  harden  still 
farther  the  obdurate  heart  of  Pharaoh. 

24.  The  Egyptians  digged  round 
about,  &c.  Probably  they  found  so 
much  as  barely  sufficed  for  the  wants 
of  existence,  though  at  the  expense  of 
great  labor  and  fatigue.  The  fact  af- 
fords an  affecting  proof,  how  in  the 
midst  of  wrath  God  remembers  mercy. 
The  people  nmst  indeed  suffer  for  the 
perversencss  of  their  rulers,  but  the 
righteous  judge  tempers  the  strokes 
which  yet  he  does  not  spare. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
From  the  last  verse  of  the  previous 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


99 


unto  him,  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Let 
my  people  go  ^  that  they  may  serve 
me. 

2  And  if  thou  i'  refuse  to  let  t/icm 
go,  behold,  I  will  smite  all  thy  bor- 
ders with  c frogs: 

3  And  the  river  shall  bring  forth 

ach.  3.  12.  18.  b  ch.  7. 14.  &  9.  2.  <=  Rev.  16. 13. 


chapter  it  appears  that  the  first  plague 
Avas  of  a  week's  continuance.  So  long 
a  time  was  probably  necessary  to  give 
the  judgment  its  full  effect.  Had  it  last- 
ed but  a  day  or  two,  it  might  have  been 
referred  to  some  casualty  which  did  not 
require  the  admission  of  a  supernatural 
agency.  But  when  they  perceived  the 
river  rolling  its  bloody  tide  day  after 
day,  and  the  nauseous  pestilential  va- 
pors still  increasing  upon  them  and 
poisoning  the  air  which  they  breathed, 
and  all  in  accordance  with  what  Moses 
had  announced,  they  would  be  rendered 
doubly  inexcusable  if  they  refused  to 
acknowledge  the  working  of  Omnipo- 
tence. Whatever  may  have  been  its 
influence  upon  the  nation  at  large,  it 
seems  to  have  produced  no  salutary  ef- 
fect upon  Pharaoh  or  his  court ;  yet  at 
the  end  of  that  time  God  was  pleased  to 
remove  the  calamity,  and  grant  a  short 
respite  to  king  and  people,  that  they 
might  reflect  upon  the  awful  phenome- 
non, and  peradvenlure  be  led  to  humble 
themselves  before  him.  Yet  the  nar- 
rative informs  us  that  the  deliverance 
from  the  curse,  like  the  curse  itself, — 
the  forbearance,  as  well  as  the  judg- 
ments, of  the  Almighty — only  served 
to  prolong  and  aggravate  their  wicked- 
ness. A  second  plague  is  therefore  now 
to  be  denoimced. 

1.  Let  my  people  s;o  that  they  may 
serve  me.  Heb.  '^aij^'^l  va-yaabdeni, 
and  they  shall  serve  me.  But  the  rend- 
ering of  the  particle  1  ve  by  '  that'  is 
undoubtedly  correct,  and  goes  to  con- 
firm our  interpretation  of  Ex.  7.  11,  12, 
where  the  same  form  of  expression  oc- 
curs. Examples  of  similar  usage  are  al- 


frogs  abundantly,  which  shall  go  up 
and  come  into  thine  house,  and  into 
*i  thy  bed-chamber,  and  upon  thy 
bed,  and  into  the  house  of  thy  ser- 
vants, and  upon  thy  people,  and 
into  thine  ovens,  and  into  thy 
kneading  troughs : 

d  Ps.  105.  30. 


most  innumerable  in  the  original  Scrip- 
tures. 

2.  Behold,  Twill  smite  all  thy  borders. 
Heb.  C)33  "^1325^  T(2tl  hinnih  anoki  no- 
gi'ph,  behold  I  smiting  ;  i.  e.  just  about 
to  smite,  as  Gen.  6.  13,  'Behold,  I  will 
destroy.'  Heb.  'Behold  I  destroying;' 
according  to  a  very  frequent  import 
of  the  present  participle.  The  term 
'  borders'  in  scriptural  usage  does  not 
merely  denote  the  limits,  coasts,  or 
boundaries  of  a  country,  but  in  a  larger 
sense  its  regions,  districts,  or  provinces 
in  general. 

3.  The  river  shall  bring  forth  frogs 
abundantly.  Heb.  D'^^J-I^C^r  yy:]  sha- 
ratz  tzephardeim,  shall  swarm  or  crawl 
(with)  frogs.  On  the  force  of  the 
original  term,  see  Note  on  Gen.  1.20. 
The  emphatic  phraseology  of  the  text 
shows  that  nothing  would  be  able  to  de 
bar  the  access  of  these  loathsome  in- 
truders into  every  nook  and  corner  of 
the  habitations  of  men.  No  doors,  locks, 
or  bolts;  no  walls,  gates,  or  fences, 
should  preclude  their  entrance.  The 
circumstance  of  their  coming  up  into 
the  'bed-chambers,' and  into  the  'ovens,' 
and  'kneading-troughs,'  needs  explana- 
tion to  those  whose  domestic  economy 
is  so  diflTerent  from  that  of  the  ancient 
nations.  Their  lodgings  were  not  in  up- 
per stories,  but  recesses  on  the  ground 
floor  ;  and  their  ovens  were  not  like  ours 
built  on  the  side  of  a  chimney,  and  ad- 
jacent to  a  fire-place,  where  the  glow- 
ing heat  would  fright  away  the  frogs  ; 
but  they  dug  a  hole  in  the  ground,  in 
which  they  placed  an  earthen  pot,  which 
having  sufficiently  heated  they  put  their 
cakes  upon  the  inside  to  be  baked.    To 


xOO 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1941 


4  And  the  fro^js  shall  come  up  both 
on  thee,  and  upon  thy  people,  and 
upon  all  ihy  servants. 

5  11  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Mo- 
ses, Say  unto  Aaron,  e  Stretch  forth 
thme  hand  Avith  thy  rod  over  the 
streams,  over  the  rivers,  and  over 
the    ponds,   and    cause    frogs    to 

e  ch.  7.  10. 

find  such  places  full  of  frogs  when  they 
came  to  heat  them  in  order  to  bake  their 
bread,  and  to  find  these  loathsome  crea- 
tures in  their  beds  when  they  sought  re- 
})ose,  must  have  been  disgusting  and 
distressing  beyond  measure.  The  fact 
tliat  these  noxious  vermin  were  thus 
prfimptcd  to  forego  their  natural  habits, 
and  instead  of  confining  themselves  to 
the  waters  and  moist  soils,  to  spread 
over  the  country  and  make  their  way  to 
the  most  frequented  and  driest  places, 
incUcates  the  countless  numbers  in  which 
they  came  forth ;  and  this  is  still  more 
confirmed  by  the  immense  heaps  of  their 
carcasses  which  ultimately  corrupted 
the  land.  It  is  observable  also  that  as 
the  frog  was  one  of  the  sacred  animals 
of  the  Egyptians,  the  objects  of  their 
superstition  became  here,  as  in  other 
instances,  the  instruments  of  their  pun- 
ishment. Indeed  every  hne  of  the  nar- 
rative of  the  plagues  seems  to  have  a 
point  and  force  which,  without  some 
considerable  acquaintance  with  the  con- 
dition and  usages  of  ancient  Egypt,  can- 
not be  properly  appreciated. 

.5.  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses, 
&c.  Of  the  reception  which  Pharaoh 
gave  to  the  present  threatening,  Moses 
gives  us  no  account,  leaving  it  to  be 
inferred  from  the  facts  which  ensued. 
From  those  it  is  obvious  that  he  treated 
the  message  either  with  open  or  silent 
contempt.  He  probably  scorned  the  idea 

of  being  terrified  at  a  swarm  of  frogs 

creatures  loathsome  indeed  but  despica- 
bly harmless.  Notliing  remained  there- 
fore but  for  Moses  to  execute  his  com- 


come  up  upon  the  land  of  Egypt. 

6  And  Aaron  stretched  out"  his 
hand  over  the  waters  of  Egypt ; 
and  ''the  frogs  came  up,  and  cover- 
ed the  land  of  Egypt. 

7  g  And  the  magicians  did  so  with 
their  enchantments,  and  brought 
up  frogs  upon  the  land  of  Egypt. 

f  Ps.  78.  45.  &  105.  30.     gch.7.  II. 


mission,  and  show  the  haughty  monarch 
that  the  Lord  of  the  universe  could  ea- 
sily arm  the  most  contemptible  of  his 
creatures  to  the  intolerable  annoyance 
or  the  utter  destruction  of  himself  and 
his  hosts. 

6.  The  frogs  came  up,  and  covered 
the  land.  Ileb.  'And  the  frog  came  up,' 
collect,  sing,  for  plur.  The  word  of 
command  has  but  to  be  uttered,  and  the 
Lord's  armies  make  their  appearance 
in  countless  myriads.  Shoals  of  leap- 
ing, croaking,  filthy  frogs  on  their  land, 
in  their  houses,  in  their  beds,  in  their 
food  !  What  a  distressing  and  nauseous 
plague  !  Many  delicate  persons  and 
children  shudder  at  the  sight  of  one 
as  it  suddenly  leaps  across  their  path. 
What  must  have  been  the  condition  of 
a  people  thus  visited  and  pursued  wher- 
ever they  went  by  swarming  multitudes 
of  these  loathsome  vermin  ! 

7.  The  magicians  did  so  with  their  en- 
chantments, and  brought  up  frogs.  Or, 
Heb.  1^3'"^1  va-yaalu,  that  they  might 
bring  up  ;  i.e.  the  magicians  attempted 
to  do  so,  that  they  might  bring  up  ;  pre- 
cisely the  same  mode  of  speech  with 
that,  v.  1,  *  that  they  might  serve  me.' 
As  in  the  two  former  cases,  so  here  also 
we  see  no  positive  evidence  that  the 
magicians  did  any  thing  more  than  go 
through  certain  preliminary  ceremonies 
of  jugglery  which  may  perhaps  have 
deceived  the  senses  of  the  spectators, 
or  they  might  have  obtained  them  from 
among  the  multitudes  })roduced  by  Mo- 
ses and  Aaron.  See  Note  on  Ex.  7. 
11,  12. 


B.  C.  H91.] 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


101 


8  H  Then  Pharaoh  called  for  Mo- 
ses and  Aaron,  and  said,  '>  Entreat 
the  Lord  tliat  he  may  take  away 
the  frogs  i'rvm  me,  and  from  my 
people :  and  I  will  let  the  people 

hch.9.28.  &  10.  17.  Numb.  21.  7.  1  Kings 
13.  6.     Acts  8.  24. 


S.  Then  Pharaoh  called  for  Moses 
and  Aaron,  &c.  Symptoms  of  relent- 
ing begin  at  length  to  show  themselves. 
The  plague  was  too  formidable  to  be 
despised,  too  mighty  to  be  resisted,  too 
extensive  to  be  remedied.  In  the  case 
of  the  waters  turned  into  blood  there 
was  some  mitigation  of  the  scourge. 
They  could  procure  pure  water,  though 
with  great  labor,  by  digging  around  the 
river.  But  from  the  plague  of  the  frogs 
there  was  no  respite  or  relief.  In  their 
houses,  in  their  beds,  at  their  tables, 
they  were  incessantly  infested  by  these 
hated  intruders.  Whatever  quantities 
of  them  were  killed,  besides  infecting 
the  air  by  their  stench,  their  places  were 
instantly  made  good  by  increased  num- 
bers, so  that  the  very  lives  of  the  suf- 
ferers must  have  been  a  weariness  to 
them.  The  judgment  in  its  extremity 
is  no  longer  endurable.  Pharaoh  is  com- 
pelled to  intercede  for  its  removal.  He 
who  drove  Moses  and  Aaron  from  him 
in  wrath,  with  the  angry  words,  'Where- 
fore do  ye  Moses  and  Aaron  let  the  peo- 
ple from  their  works  ;  get  you  unto  your 
burdens,'  now  sends  for  them  in  fear, 
alters  his  voice,  and  begs  that  they 
would  entreat  the  Lord  for  him.  He  is 
now  glad  to  be  beholden  to  the  mercy  of 
that  God  of  whom  he  had  belbre  spoken 
with  the  utmost  disdain.  The  request 
to  Moses  and  Aaron  he  backs  with  the 
promise  to  let  the  people  go,  in  which 
perhaps  he  was  at  the  time  sincere  ;  as 
much  so  undoubtedly  as  simiers  usually 
are  in  the  promises  to  God  that  are  ex- 
torted from  them  under  the  pressure  of 
the  heai^'y  hand  of  his  judgments.  But 
in  this,  as  in  a  thousand  similar  cases 
lime  soon  showed  how  little  dcpend- 
9* 


go,  that  they  may  do  sacrifice  unto 
the  Lord. 

9  And  Moses  said  unto  Pharaoh, 
Glory  over  me  :  when  shall  I  en- 
treat for  thee  and  for  thy  serv^ants, 
and  for  thy  people,  to  destroy  the 
frogs  from  thee,  and  thy  houses, 

ence  was  to  be  placed  upon  such  prom- 
ises.  IT    That  he  may  take  away. 

Heb.  ^iD"^!  vayaser,  and  he  shall  take 
away;  the  same  form  of  expression  with 
that  adverted  to  above.  So  also  in  the 
close  of  the  verse,  'that  they  may  do  sa- 
crifice.' Heb.  'And  they  shall  do  sacri- 
fice.' Thus  also  where  one  Evangelist, 
Mark,  12.  17,  has,  'And  the  inheritance 
shall  be  ours  ;'  another,  Luke,  20.  4,  has, 
'That  the  inheritance  may  be  ours.' 

9.  Glory  over  me.  Heb.  'i^5>  ^J^iTrin 
hithpcur  alai,  have  the  honor  over  me. 
Moses  by  these  words  seems  to  indicate 
so  much  satisfaction  and  joy  at  the  least 
sign  of  relenting  on  the  part  of  Pharaoh, 
that  he  is  ready  to  humble  himself  in  his 
presence,  disclaiming,  as  it  were,  and 
foregoing  the  honor  and  pre-eminence 
which  naturally  accrued  to  him  from 
the  performance  of  such  mighty  works, 
and  laying  them  at  the  feet  of  Pharaoh. 
So  obsequious  indeed  does  he  profess 
himself  in  view  of  the  hopeful  change 
which  had  taken  place  in  the  king's 
mind,  that  he  willingly  gives  him  the 
honor  of  appointing  a  time  when  he 
should  entreat  the  Lord  for  the  removal 
of  the  plague.  Gr.  'Appoint  unto  me 
when  I  shall  pray.'  Chal.  'Ask  for  thee 
a  powerful  Avork,  and  give  thou  the 
time.'  The  incident  suggests  an  im- 
portant practical  hint.  The  ministers 
of  God  should  be  ever  prompt  to  greet 
with  joy  the  slightest  symptoms  of  re- 
lenting in  those  to  whom  they  may  have 
been  the  occasion  of  suffering,  whether 
bodily  or  mental.  Indeed,  a  benevolent 
mind  will  be  so  rejoiced  with  such  indi- 
cations, that  he  will  readily  exchange 
the  language  and  the  air  of  sternness 
and  severity  for  the  most  condescend- 


102 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


that  they  may  remain  in  the  river 
only  ? 

10  And  he  said,  To-morrow.  And 
he  said,  Be  it  according  to  thy 
word :  that  thou  maycst  know  that 
'^  there  /.^none  like  unto  the  Lord 
our  God. 

11  And    the  frogs   shall   depart 

•  c\\.  9.  14.  Dcut.  33.  26.  2  Sam.  7.  22. 
1  Chron.  17.  20.  Ps.  86.  8.  Isai.  46.  9.  Jer. 
10.  6,  7. 


ing  deportment,  in  order  to  encourage 
the  incipient  workings  of  a  godly  sor- 
row.  IT  That  they  may  remain  in  the 

river  only.  Not  that  they  should  be 
removed  by  being  transferred  from  the 
land  to  the  river,  but  that  they  should 
bo  henceforth  confined  to  the  river,  and 
not  suffered  to  infest  the  land  any  more. 
This  is  the  true  import  of  the  original. 
Those  that  were  already  on  the  land 
died  and  were  gathered  in  heaps. 

10.  And  he  said,  To-morrotv.  Heb. 
"nri^SP  lemahor,  against  to-morrou\  It 
is  perhaps  a  natural  query  why  Pha- 
raoh did  not  demand  an  instantaneous 
cessation  of  the  plague?  To  this  it 
may  be  replied,  that  he  was  possibly 
desirous  of  seeing  whether  the  frogs 
might  not  disappear  of  themselves  in 
the  meantime.  If  so,  he  would  have 
some  show  of  reason  to  doubt  whether 
they  were  really  the  product  of  super- 
natural agency,  or  had  chanced  to  ap- 
pear  in  such  countless  numbers.  We 
may  suppose  moreover  that  it  was  to 
meet  some  such  latent  misgiving  in  his 
mind  that  Mo.^es  h;ul  given  him  the  op- 
tion of  the  time  that  he  should  fix  for 
the  withdrawment  of  the  plague.  He 
would  leave  no  ground  for  suspicion  that 
the  miracle  was  owing  to  any  other  than 
supernatural  agency.  Add  to  this  as 
another  reason  for  the  delay  of  a  day, 
that  Pharaoh  may  have  supposed  from 
the  past  that  some  time  would  be  re- 
quisite for  ])rayer  and  consultation  of 
the  Deity  on  the  part  of  r.Ioses,  which 
he  was  disposed,  as  a  reasonable  thing, 


from  tliee,  and  from  thy  houses, 
and  from  thy  servants,  and  from 
thy  people  ;  they  shall  remain  in 
the  river  only. 

12  And  Moses  and  Aaron  went 
out  from  Pliaraoh :  and  Moses 
k  cried  unto  the  Lord,  because  of 
the  frogs  which  he  had  brought 
against  Pharaoh. 

k  ver.  30.  ch.  9.  33.  &  10.  IS.  «k  32.  11.  James 
5.16,17,18. 


to  allow. IT  That  thou  may  est  know, 

&c.  These  words  declare  to  us  the  grand 
design  of  all  the  dispensations,  whether 
of  judgment  or  mercy,  of  the  Most  High, 
that  he  may  be  convinced  that  '  there 
is  none  like  unto  the  Lord  our  God  j' 
none  so  wise,  so  good,  so  mighty;  none 
so  formidable  as  an  enemy,  none  so  de- 
sirable as  a  friend.  Nothing  would  more 
tend  to  produce  this  impression  on  his 
mind  than  the  circumstance  of  his  being 
permitted  himself  to  assign  the  time  for 
the  removal  of  the  frogs,  and  then  to 
see  the  event  punctually  accomplished. 
12.  Cried  unto  the  Lord  because  of 
the  frogs.  Hah. '^y2'^ ''^'V  al  debar ,  upon 
the  word  (or  matter)  of  the  frogs  ;  i.  e. 
on  the  subject  of  the  frogs,  in  regard  to 
them.  See  Note  on  Gen.  15.  1.  From 
the  force  of  the  original  for  '  cried' 
(p5^!lZ'i  yitzak)  it  is  to  be  at  least  in- 
ferred that  Moses  prayed  with  great 
earnestness  and  intensity  of  spirit,  if 
not  with  special  energy  of  utterance. 
Though  the  word  has  a  primary  refer- 
ence to  the  use  of  the  voice,  yet  in  Ex. 
14.  15,  it  is  evidently  employed  where 
nothing  more  than  a  fervent  mental  pe- 
tition is  intended.  'Wherefore  criest 
thou  (pyiZD  titzak)  unto  me  V    .See 

Note  in  loc. IT  Which  he  had  brought 

against  Pharaoh.  Heb.  n^^O^  DC  ^ZJi^ 
a-sher  sam  le-Pharoh,  which  he  had  put 
to  Pharaoh;  i.e.  proposed,  appointed 
to  Pharaoh.  In  other  words,  he  made 
supplication  to  the  Lord  relative  to  the 
removal  of  the  frogs  on  the  conditions 
which  he  had  fixed)  settled,  or  agreed  to 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


103 


13  And  the  Lokd  did  according  to 
the  word  of  Moses  :  and  the  frogs 
died  out  of  the  houses,  out  of  the 
villages,  and  out  of  the  fields. 

14  And  they  gathered  them  to- 
gether upon  heaps:  and  the  land 
stank. 

15  But  when  Pharaoh  saw  that 

with  Pharaoh.  This  sense  of  the  word 
is  rather  more  agreeable  to  the  original, 
and  equally  so,  we  think,  to  the  context. 

13.  Out  of  the  villages.  Rather  ac- 
cording to  the  Heb.  'out  of  the  courts.' 
The  term  r^^i^m  hatzeroth  is  indeed 
occasionally  applied  to  'villages  ;'  but 
its  primary  sense  is  that  of  an  open 
court  or  area,  a  place  vailed  or  fenced 
round.  This  is  probably  the  meaning 
here.  The  writer's  design  seems  to  be 
to  say,  that  the  frogs  first  deserted  the 
houses,  then  the  court-yards  or  enclosed 
grounds  about  the  houses,  and  lastly 
the  open  fields. 

14.  They  gathered  them  together  upon 
heaps,  Heb.  'Gathered  them  togetlier, 
heaps,  heaps.'  See  Note  on  Gen.  14.  10. 
They  were  now  delivered  from  the  prin- 
cipal calamity,  but  they  still  had  a  most 
offensive  evil  to  endure  to  keep  Pharaoh 
in  mind  of  his  promise.  Being  obliged  to 
gatlicr  together  the  dead  frogs  in  heaps, 
the  number  and  size  of  such  masses  of 
putrifying  matter  were  so  great  as  to 
fill  the  whole  air  with  an  odor  that  was 
intolerable. 

15.  When  Pharaoh  saw  that  there  was 
respite.  Heb.  nMnn  harevahah,  a 
breathing.  Gr.  avaipv^ii,  a  refreshing, 
as  rendered,  Acts,  3.  10,  '  When  the 
times  of  refreshing  {ai^aipv^eoii)  shall 
come  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.' 
The  usual  effect  of  the  intermission 
of  divine  judgments  upon  obstinate  of- 
fenders is  here  strikingly  displayed. 
'Let  favor  be  showed  to  the  wicked, 
yet  will  he  not  learn  righteousness  : 
in  the  land  of  uprightness  will  he  deal 
unjustly,  and  will  not  behold  the  ma- 
jesty of  the  Lord.'    Is.  26.   10.      The 


there  was  'respite,  »"he  harden- 
ed his  heart,  and  hearkened  not 
unto  them ;  as  the  Lord  had 
said. 

16  lIAnd  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
ses, 8ay  imto  Aaron,  iStretch  out 
thy  rod,  and  smite  tlie  dust  of  the 

'  L:ccle.s.  8.  11.     mcli.T.  14. 

respite  granted  in  order  to  lead  the  re- 
bellious king  to  repentance,  serves  but 
to  embolden  him  in  the  career  of  dis- 
obedience, and  harden  his  heart  afresh. 
Without  considering  either  what  he  had 
lately  felt,  or  what  he  had  reason  to 
fear,  he  utterly  disregards  his  promise, 
and  settles  down  again  into  a  posture 
of  impious  defiance  of  the  wrath  of 
heaven.  How  exact  the  counterpart 
which  this  conduct  finds  in  that  of  sin- 
ners awakened  and  aroused  by  some 
startling  appeal  of  Providence  or  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  No  more  striking  picture 
of  this  perverseness  has  ever  been  fur- 
nished than  that  which  we  find  in  the 
words  of  the  Psalmist,  Ps.  78.  34 — 42. 
'  When  he  slew  them,  then  they  sought 
him :  and  they  returned  and  inquired 
early  after  God.  And  they  remembered 
that  God  was  their  Rock,  and  the  high 
God  their  Redeemer.  Nevertheless  they 
did  flatter  him  with  their  mouth,  and 
they  lied  unto  him  with  their  tongues. 
For  their  heart  was  not  right  with  him, 
neither  were  tliey  steadfast  in  his  cove- 
nant. How  oft  did  they  jirovoke  him 
in  the  wilderness,  and  grieve  him  in  the 
desert  !  Yea,  they  turned  back  and 
tempted  God,  and  limited  the  Holy  One 
of  Israel.  They  remembered  not  his 
hand,  nor  the  day  when  he  delivered 
them  from  the  enemy.' 

16.  Stretch  out  thy  rod.  The  judg- 
ment now  to  be  inflicted  was  to  be  in- 
flicted without  any  previous  warning. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  fourth  and  fifth 
were  preceded  by  a  warning,  while  the 
sixth  was  not  ;  again,  the  seventh  and 
eighth  were  announced,  but  not  so  the 
ninth  ;  under  the  tenth  the  people  were 


104 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491 


land,    tliat   it    may    become    lice 
throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

17  And  they  did  so ;  for  Aaron 
stretched  out  his  hand  with  his 
rod,   and   smote    the  dust   of  the 


sent  away.  God  was  under  no  obliga- 
tions to  make  known  his  purposes  to 
Pharaoh  before  hand,  and  from  his  gross 
abuse  of  the  respite  granted  liim,  he 
had  no  reason  to  be  surprised  if  another 
plague  of  tenfold  severity,  or  of  utter 
destructiveness  should  suddenly  burst 
forth  upon  liim.  But  though  God  sees 
fit  again  to  '  correct'  him  without  warn- 
ing, yet  it  is  'with  measure,  lest  he 
should  be  brought  to  nothing.' 

17.  It  became  lice,  &ic.  Heb.  t3i  A-in- 
nim.  Gr.  cKvicpcq,  gnats.  Of  the  real 
instrument  by  which  the  third  plague 
was  effected,  we  are  inclined  to  adopt, 
as  most  probable,  the  view  given  by  the 
Editor  of  the  Pictorial  Bible.  '  The 
Septuagint  renders  the  Hebrew  word 
ti^'2'J  kinnim,  by  aKviipec,  which  means 
the  mosquito  gnat ;  and  this  rendering 
is  entitled  to  great  respect,  when  we 
recollect  that  the  translators  lived  in 
Egypt.  It  is  also  confirmed  by  Origen 
and  Jerome,  who,  with  the  Septuagint, 
form  perhaps  the  best  mass  of  authority 
on  such  a  point  which  it  is  possible  to 
possess.  Gesenius,  Dr.  Boolhroyd,  and 
others,  concur  in  this  view  of  the  word  ; 
but  it  is  certain  that  the  generality  of 
interpreters  agree  with  the  common 
translation,  which  perhaps  may  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact,  that  the  noi- 
some parasite  is  better  known  in  the 
West  than  the  mosquito,  although,  hap- 
pily, neither  of  them  are  so  generally 
familiar  as  in  the  East.  The  writer 
has  had  some  experieuce  in  different 
countries  of  the  misery  and  continual 
irritation  which  tlie  mosquito-gnat  oc- 
casions, and  can  say,  without  the  least 
hesitation,  that  of  all  insect  plagues 
there  is  none  which  he  should  think  so 
intolerable.  The  activity  of  these  in- 
sects, their  small  size,  their  insatiable 


earth,  and  "it  became  lice  in  man 
and  in  beast :  all  the  dust  of  the 
land  became  lice  throughout  all 
the  land  of  Egypt. 

nPs.105.  31. 


thirst  for  blood,  and  the  power  of  their 
sting,  which  enable  them  to  run  riot  not 
only  on  the  exposed  parts  of  the  person, 
but  on  those  that  are  thinly  covered,  as 
the  legs,  almost  render  existence  a  ca- 
lamity during  the  seasons  in  which  they 
most  abound.  The  painful  sensation 
which  their  sting  produces,  and  the  in- 
tolerable and  protracted  itching  which 
ensues,  with  the  combined  torture  re- 
sulting from  the  infliction  of  fresh  stings 
while  the  former  are  still  smarting,  is 
scarcely  less  distressing  to  the  mind 
than  to  the  body.  To  secure  sleep  at 
night,  the  inhabitants  of  tlie  countries 
infested  by  these  insects  are  obliged  to 
shelter  themselves  under  mosquito-nets 
or  curtains  ;  and  it  deserves  to  be  men- 
tioned that  this  precaution  was  used  by 
the  ancient  Egyptians.  There  is  a  re- 
markable passage  on  this  subject  in 
Herodotus.  After  mentioning  how  the 
country  is  infested  by  gnats,  he  says 
that  as  the  wind  will  not  allow  these 
insects  to  ascend  to  any  considerable 
elevation,  the  inhabitants  of  Upper 
Egypt  sleep  in  turrets  to  avoid  these 
tormentors  ;  but  that  in  lower  Egypt 
the  people  sleep  securely  underneath 
their  nets  with  which  they  fish  by  day, 
and  which  they  spread  over  their  beds 
at  night.  This  has  puzzled  translators 
and  others ;  but  it  is  a  fact  that  mos- 
quitoes and  other  flies  will  not  pass 
through  nets,  the  meshes  of  which  are 
much  more  than  large  enough  to  admit 
them.  This  is  practically  knoA\Ti  in 
some  parts  of  Italy,  where  the  inhabit- 
ants use  net  window-curtains  which 
freely  admit  the  air  while  they  exclude 
gnats  and  flies.  How  severely  this  ca- 
lamity was  felt  is  evinced  by  the  fact 
that  the  Egyptians  and  other  nations 
of  Eintiquity  had  gods  whose  especial 


JB.  C.  1531.] 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


105 


IS  And  o  the  magicians  did  so  with 

their  enchantments  to  bring  forth 

ofh.  7.  II. 


province  it  was  to  protect  them  from 
these  and  other  'flies.'     The  'Baalze- 
bub,'  or  'god  of  flies,'  so  often  men- 
tioned in  Scripture,  was  a  deity  of  this 
description.     We  read   also  of  towns 
near  lakes  and  marshy  grounds  (where 
these  insects  particularly  abound)  be- 
ing desert  tni  on  account  of  tins  nuisance, 
as  well  as  of  im])ortanl  military  under- 
takings being  relinquished.  As  the  mos- 
quitoes breed  in  marshy  soil,  and  par- 
ticularly in  moist  rice-grounds,  where 
such  exist,   the  annual  overflowing  of 
the  Nile  renders  Egypt  but  too  favor- 
able to  their  production.     They  accord- 
inglj'^  appear  in  immense  swarms,  and 
the  testimony  of  travellers  concur  in 
declaring  that  there  is  no  countrj'^,  in 
the  old  continent  at  least,  where  the 
mosquito-gnats    are   so  numerous   and 
voracious   as  in  Egypt,  or  where    the 
pain  of  their  wound  and  the  consequent 
smart  and  itching  are  so  acute.     We 
have  abstained  from  describing  them, 
as  their  general  appearance  and  habits 
do  not  dilfer  from  those  of  the  common 
gnat ;  but  there  is  no  comparison  in  the 
degree  of  annoyance  which  they  occa- 
sion.     The    Egyptian   gnat    is    rather 
small.     It  is  ash-colored,  with  white 
spots  on  the  articulation  of  the.  legs. 
It  may  be  objected  to  the  view  of  the 
text  which  we  have  taken,  that  it  de- 
tracts from  the  miraculous  nature   of 
the  visitation  to  suppose  it  connected 
with  insects  which  Egypt  naturally  pro- 
duces in  such  abundance.     But  this  ob- 
jection equally  applies  to  '  lice,'  which 
swarm  there  to  such  a  degree  that  it  is 
difficult  for  the  most  cleanly  persons  to 
keep  themselves  wholly  free  from  tliem. 
If  we  take   either  reading,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  conclude  (vrhich  the  text 
expressly   states)    that    the    creatures 
were  brought  in  swarms  most  extrnor-  | 
dinary  even  in  Egypt,  and  perhaps  that  \ 


lice,  hut  they  p  could  not :  so  there 
were  lice  upon  man,  and  upon  beast. 

P  Luke  10.  18.    2Tim.  3.  8,  9. 

they  were  brought  thus  abundantly  at  a 
time  of  the  year  when  they  do  not  usu- 
ally abound.'     Pict.  Bib, 

IS.  The  ma<^icians  did  so,  &c. — but 
could  not.  That  is,  they  tried  the  ut- 
most of  their  skill  to  imitate  the  mira- 
cle, but  they  could  not.  Tlie  motives 
which  led  them  at  first  to  engage  in  the 
contest  with  Moses,  the  shame  of  de- 
sisting, and  some  slight  appearances 
of  success  in  their  former  attempts, 
prompted  them  still  to  carry  on  their 
imposture  in  tlie  present  instance.  But 
all  was  unavailing.  With  all  their  skill 
in  magic,  and  with  all  their  dexterity 
in  deceiving  the  spectators,  they  could 
not  even  succeed  so  far  as  they  had 
already  done  in  producing  a  specious 
counterfeit  of  the  work  of  Moses.  Had 
they  hitherto  performed  real  miracles, 
how  came  they  to  be  baflled  now  ?  It 
camiot  be  a  greater  miracle  to  produce 
lice  or  gnats,  than  to  turn  rods  into 
serpents,  water  into  blood,  or  to  create 
frogs.  It  is  indeed  often  said  that  they 
were  now  laid  under  restraint.  But  it 
does  not  aj'pear,  from  tlic  text,  that 
they  were  laid  under  any  other  restraint 
than  that  which  arose  from  the  imprac- 
ticability of  the  thing  itself  compared 
with  their  other  performances.  The 
vermin  now  produced  were  so  minute 
that  it  is  inconceivable  that  any  human 
artifice  should  even  appear  to  produce 
them.  Besides  in  all  the  former  in- 
stances the  magicians  knew  beforehand 
what  they  Avere  to  undertake,  and  had 
time  for  preparation.  But  now,  as  the 
plague  came  without  warning,  they  had 
no  opportunity  for  contriving  any  expe- 
dient for  imitating  or  impeaching  the 
act  of  Moses.  And  had  they  been  al- 
lowed time,  how  was  it  possible  for 
them  to  make  it  appear,  that  they  pro- 
duced these  creatures  by  which  they 
themselves  and  all  the  comitry  were  al- 


106 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


19  Then  the  ma2:icians  said  unto 
Pharaoh,  This  ?.<?  q  the  finger  of 
God :  and  Pharaoh's  r  heart  was 
hardened,  and  he  hearkened  not 
unto  them;  as  the  Lord  had  said, 

20  H  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
ses, s  Rise  up  early  in  the  morning, 

q  1  Sam.  6.  3, 9.  Ps.  8.  3.  Matt.  12.  28.  Luke 
II.  20.    J- ver.  15.    s  ch.  7.  15. 

ready  covered  ?  What  then  was  more 
natural  than  that  the  abortivencss  of 
their  present  attempts  should  be  ex- 
pressly mentioned,  and  that  too  with- 
out implying  that  they  had  really  suc- 
ceeded in  any  former  instance  ? 

19.  This  is  the  finger  of  God.  That 
is,  the  special  work  and  power  of  God  ; 
who  is  said,  after  the  rrianner  of  men, 
to  do  things  by  his  hand  or  'finger  ;'  Ps. 
8.4.— 102.26.— 109,27.— 1  Sam.  6.  9.  To 
this  phraseology  Christ  had  reference 
when  he  refuted  those  who  withstood 
his  miracles,  as  these  magicians  did 
Moses;  Luke,  11,  20,  'If  I  Avith  the 
finger  of  God  cast  out  devils  ;'  which 
another  Evangelist  expresses  thus  ;  '  If 
I  cast  out  devils  by  the  Spirit  of  God.'  It 
may  well  be  doubted,  however,  whether 
by  this  acknowledgment  the  magicians 
intended  to  award  any  honor  to  Moses 
and  Aaron,  or  even  to  the  true  God. 
The  original  expression  as  uttered  by 
them,  may  have  reference  not  to  Jeho- 
vah, but  to  the  divinities  worshipped  in 
EgyjJt ;  so  tliat  it  is  simply  equivalent 
to  saying,  tliat  were  it  not  for  the  in- 
visible agency  of  the  gods  (Elohim), 
Moses  and  Aaron  were  no  better  work- 
ers of  wonders  than  themselves,  but 
that  in  some  way  unaccountable  they 
were  frustrated  in  their  attempts.  This 
was  the  best  apology  they  could  make 
for  their  own  failure  of  success,  and  to 
prevent  Pharoali  from  reproaching  them 
with  the  want  of  skill  in  their  profes- 
sion,  IT  And  Pharaoh's  heart  ivas 

hardened.  How  clearly  does  it  appear 
from  this,  that  unbelief  will  sometimes 
survive  the  refutation  of  the  lies  by 


and  stand  before  Pharaoli ;  (lo,  he 
Cometh  forth  to  the  water ;)  and 
say  unto  him,  Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
t  Let  my  people  go,  tliat  they  may 
serve  me : 
21  Else,  if  thou  wilt  not  let  my 
people  go,  behold,  I  will  send 
swarms  ofjiies  upon  thee,  and  up- 

'  ver.  1. 


which  it  is  nourished.  Who  v/oul(/ 
not  have  thought  that  this  confession 
of  the  magicians,  which  was  a  virtual 
avowal  of  the  impotency  of  their  craft, 
together  with  the  striking  displeasure 
of  the  Almighty,  manifested  in  the  new 
calamity  visited  upon  him,  would  have 
made  the  haughty  monarch  at  least  be- 
gin to  waver  in  his  resolution  ?  But  no. 
We  still  read  the  affecting  record  of 
his  perverseness  and  his  guilt,  showing 
that  he  grew  more  and  more  obstinate. 
'  Though  thou  shouldest  bray  a  fool  in 
a  mortar  with  a  pestle,  yet  will  not  his 
foolishness  depart  from  him.' 

20,  Rise  vp  early  in  the  morning, 
and  stand  before  Pharaoh,  &c.  The 
servant  of  God  was  not  to  be  behind- 
hand with  the  earliest  morning  visita- 
tion of  Pharaoh  to  the  god  of  his  idol- 
atry, nor  was  he  to  be  daunted  or  deter- 
red by  what  had  happened  from  again 
meeting  him  face  to  face,  and  renewing 
his  inexorable  demands.  Proud  and  im- 
perious  and  exasperated  as  he  was,  he 
was  again  to  be  challenged  in  the  name 
of  the  Most  High,  to  let  the  captives  go 
free,  and  in  case  of  his  refusal,  to  pre- 
pare to  encounter  another  detachment 
of  the  Lord's  armies,  no  less  fierce  and 
formidable  than  that  from  which  he  had 
just  been  delivered  —  provided  indeed 
he  were  delivered  from  it,  which  is  not 
expressly  stated.  Jehovah  had  but  to 
'■  hiss  for  the  fly,'  and  the  winged  in- 
sect hosts  would  be  present,  in  coimt- 
less  multitudes,  to  execute  his  orders. 

21.  I  will  send  swarms  of  flies  upon 
thee,  &c,  Heb,  '21^  aroh,  a  mixture,  or 
mixed  swarm;  i.  e.  probably  of  flies, 


B.  C.  1491.1 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


107 


on  thy  servants,  and  upon  thy 
people,  and  into  thy  houses :  and 
the  houses  of  the  Egyptians  shall 


wasps,  hornets,  and  other  vexatious  and 
stinging  insects.  It  will  be  observed 
that  'flics'  in  our  version,  being  printed 
in  Italics,  is  not  in  the  original,  nor  is 
it  easj"^  to  ascertain  precisely  what  kind 
of  swar?n  or  mixture  forniod  the  con- 
stituents of  the  fourth  plague.  The 
original  term,  ZIV  arob,  applied  in  Ex. 
12.  38,  to  men,  and  rendoied,  'a  mixed 
multitude,'  comes  from  l:"i3J  to  mingl-e., 
and  is  understood  by  most  of  the  Jew- 
ish interpreters  to  imply  a  mixed  mul- 
titude of  noisome  beasts.  Thus,  Targ. 
Jer.  'A  mixed  swarm  of  wild  beasts.' 
Chal.  *A  mixed  swarm  of  wild  beasts  of 
the  field.'  Josephus,  'Various  sorts  of 
pestilential  creatures.'  Rab.  Solomon, 
'All  kinds  of  venomous  animals,  as  ser- 
pents and  scorpions.'  Aben  Ezra,  'All 
the  wild  beasts  intermingled  together, 
as  lions,  bears,  and  leopards.'  The  Sept, 
however,  renders  it  by  Kvonviav,  dog-fiy, 
from  its  biting,  an  insect  that  fastens 
its  teeth  so  deep  in  the  flesh,  and  sticks 
so  very  close,  that  it  oftentimes  makes 
cattle  run  mad.  The  etymology  of  the 
word  leads  us,  on  the  whole,  to  regard 
as  probably  true  the  rendering  given 
Ps.  78.  45,  ,  <He  sent  (n^^  arob)  divers 
sorts  of  flies  among  them  which  de- 
voured them;'  so  that  it  was  not  one 
particular  kind,  but  all  sorts  of  vexa- 
tious, winged  creatures  of  the  smaller 
tribes,  mingled  together  in  one  prodi- 
gious swarm.  It  must  be  admitted,  how- 
ever, that  there  is  so  striking  a  simi- 
larity between  this  and  what  we  have 
supposed  to  be  the  preceding  plague,  as 
to  give  some  countenance  to  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  Editor  of  the  Pictorial 
Bible.  '  As  the  word  Arob  implies  a 
mixture,  the  Vulgate  has  translated  it 
'all  sorts  o'f  flies,'  and  from  thence  our 
version  '  swarms  of  flips,'  where  it  is  to 
be  observed  that  'flies,'  in  Italics,  is  not 
in  the  original.     Wo  are   left  to   con- 


be   full   of  swarms   of  fics,  and 
also    the    ground    whereon    they 


jecture  what  kind  of  fly  is  meant,  or 
whether,  indeed,  the  plague  consisted 
in  flie.s  at  all.  The  language  of  the  24th 
verse  is  remarkable  :  '  The  land  was 
corrupted  by  reason  of  the  swarm,' 
which  could  hardly  apply  to  any  'fly,' 
properly  so  called.  II'  also  we  refer  to 
Ps.  78.  45,  we  see  the  Arob  is  described 
as  devouring  the  Egyptians,  which  is 
an  act  that  seems  inapplicable  to  a  fly. 
Upon  the  whole,  we  strongly  incline  to 
the  opinion  which  has  found  some  able 
supporters  of  late  years,  that  the  Egyp- 
tian beetle  (blatta  ^^gyptiaca)  is  de- 
noted in  this  place.  The  beetle,  which 
is  almost  every  where  a  nuisance,  is 
particularly  abundant  and  oflensive  in 
Egypt,  and  all  the  circumstances  which 
the  Scriptures  in  ditferent  places  inti- 
mates concerning  the  Arob,  applies  with 
much  accuracy  to  this  species.  It  de- 
vours every  thing  that  comes  in  its  way, 
even  clothes,  books,  and  plants,  and 
does  not  hesitate  to  inflict  severe  bites 
on  man.  If  also  we  conceive  that  one 
object  ol'  these  plagues  was  to  chastise 
the  Egyptians  liirough  their  own  idols, 
there  is  no  creature  of  its  class  w^hich 
could  be  more  fitly  employed  than  this 
insect.  What  precise  place  it  filled  in 
the  religious  system  of  that  remarkable 
people  has  never,  we  believe,  been  ex- 
actly determined  ;  but  that  it  occupied 
a  conspicuous  place  among  their  sacred 
creatures  seems  to  be  evinced  by  the 
fact,  that  there  is  scarcely  any  figure 
which  occurs  more  frequently  in  Egyp- 
tian sculpture  and  painting.  Visiters  to 
the  British  Museum  may  satisfy  them- 
selves of  this  fact,  and  they  will  also 
observe  a  remarkable  colossal  figure  of 
a  beetle  in  greenish  colored  granite. 
Figures  of  beetles  cut  in  green-colored 
stone  occur  very  frequently  in  the  an- 
cient tombs  of  F^gypt.  They  are  gener- 
ally  plain  ;  but  some  have  hieroglyphic 


108 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491, 


22  And  u  I  will  sever  in  lliat  day 
the  land  of  Goshen,  in  which  my 
people  dwell,  that  no  swarms  of 
jiies  shall  be  there;  to  the  end 
thou  mayest  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord,  in  the  midst  of  the  earth. 

uch.  9.4,6,  26.  &10.2J.  &  11.6,7.  &  12.  13. 

figures  cut  on  their  backs,  and  others 
have  been  found  with  human  heads. 
The  Egyptian  beetle  is  about  the  size 
of  the  common  beetle,  and  its  general 
color  is  also  black.  It  is  chiefly  dis- 
tinguished by  having  a  broad  white  band 
upon  the  anterior  margin  of  its  oval 
corslet.'  Pict.  Bible.  The  reader  will 
perceive  that  the  real  nature  of  this 
judgment  is  still  a  matter  of  great  un- 
certainty, and  one  on  which  we  can 
scarcely  obtain  even  a  balance  of  prob- 
abilities.  TT  The  ground  upon  which 

they  are.  It  is  not  clear  to  what  the 
pronoun  'they'  refers.  If  it  be  to  the 
mixed  swarm,  it  would  seem  to  carry 
the  implication  that  they  were  some 
kind  o{  ground  reptiles,  probably  of  the 
smaller  species,  and  if  this  were  so,  it 
favors  the  above  interpretation  ofbeetles 
more  decisively  than  any  thing  that  has 
been  yet  offered. 

22.  And  I  will  sever.  Heb.  in^^Sn 
hiphWthi,  I  will  marvellously  sever  j 
i.  e.  will  separate  and  exempt  in  a  mar- 
vellous manner.  Accordingly,  the  Gr. 
renders  it,  'I  will  marvellously  glorify, 
or  miraculously  honor  ;'  the  same  word 
which  occurs  Luke,  5.  2,  6,  'And  they 
were  all  amazed,  and  glorified  God.' 
The  Heb.  term  occurs,  Ps.  4.  3,  'Know 
that  the  Lord  hath  set  apart  him  tliat  is 
godly  for  himself;'  i.e.  hath  glorious- 
ly or  honorably  distinguished,  discrimi- 
nated, apjjropriated  him  that  is  godly. 
Again,  Ex.  33. 16,  '  So  shall  we  be  sepa- 
rated, I  and  tliy  people,  from  all  the 
people  that  are  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth.'  Gr.  '  Shall  be  more  glorious.' 
Compare  Wisd.  18.  8,  speaking  of  this 
event ;  'For  wherewith  thou  didst  pun- 
ish our  adversaries,  by  the  same  thou 


23  And  I  will  put  a  division  be- 
tween my  people  and  thy  people: 
to-morrow  shall  this  sign  be. 

24  And  the  Lord  did  so :  and 
^  there  came  a  grievous  swarm  of 
flies  into  the  house  of  Pharaoh,  and 

xPs.78.  45.  &  105.  31. 


didst  glorify  us  whom  thou  hadst  call 

ed.' TT  I  will  put  a  division.    Heb. 

mS  '^i1?2'lZ:  samti  peduth,  I  will  put  or 
set  redemption.  Ps.  111.  9,  'He  sent  re- 
demption  unto  his  people.'  The  Gr. 
renders  it  by  (JmaroX*?  division^  or  dis- 
tinction, the  same  word  which  occurs 
Rom.  3.  22,  '  The  righteousness  of  God 
which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  all 
and  upon  all  them  that  believe  :  for  there 
isno  difference  (JiarrroXr;).'  Hitherto  the 
plagues  appear  to  have  been  common  to 
the  Egyptians  and  Hebrews.  We  can 
easily  understand  that  the  latter  were 
included  in  these  visitations,  to  punish 
them  for  their  partially  favoring  the 
idolatries  of  Egypt,  and  for  their  unbe- 
lief. But  as  this  may  have  contributed 
to  prevent  the  Egyptians  from  seeing  the 
finger  of  God  in  the  previous  plagues,  a 
distinction  was  henceforth  to  be  made, 
and  the  land  of  Goshen  to  be  exempted 
from  the^calamities  still  impending.  It 
was  a  '  division'  strikingly  illustrative 
of  that  fmal  diversity  of  allotment 
which  awaits  the  two  great  classes  of 
men,  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  in 
the  great  day  of  discrimination.  It  may 
be  remarked  that  as  the  preceding  verse 
announces  the  severing  of  the  land  of 
Goshen  from  the  rest  of  Egypt,  some  of 
the  Jewish  commentators  understand  by 
this  verse  not  a  mere  repetition  of  the 
former,  but  an  assurance  that  if  ever 
any  of  the  Israelites  should  chance  to 
be  in  any  other  part  of  Egypt,  they 
should  there  also  remain  uninjured  by 
the  plague. 

24.  There  came  a  grievous  swarm. 
Heb.  IDS  i135  arob  kabcd,  a  heavy 
swarm.  The  epithet  in  the  original 
may  apply  either  to  the  gricvousness 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


109 


into  his  servants'  houses,  and  into 
all  the  land  of  Egypt :  the  land  was 
corrupted  by  reason  of  the  swarm 
of  fie  s. 

'25  IF  And  Pharaoh  called  for  Mo- 
ses, and  for  Aaron,  and  said,  Go  ye, 
sacrilice  to  your  God  in  the  land. 
26  And  Moses  said.  It  is  not  meet 

of  the  plague  considered  in  its  effects, 
or  to  tiie  vast  numbers  of  the  insects  by 
which  it  was  brought  about.  See  Note 
on  Gen.  50.  9. IT  The  land  uns  cor- 
rupted; or  Heb.  'destroyed,'  as  the 
word  often  signifies.  See  Note  on  Gen. 
6.  13.  By  the  land  we  are  probably  to 
understand  the  '  inhabitants  of  the  land,' 
who  were  destroyed  in  the  sense  of  be- 
ing reduced  to  the  greatest  extremities, 
and  of  sutfering  an  annoyance  that  was 
almost  beyond  endurance,  in  addition 
to  wliich  probably  many  of  them  actu- 
ally perished  in  consequence  of  the  in- 
flammation produced  by  the  bites  or 
slings  of  the  venomous  insects.  The 
orighial  word,  however,  is  often  used  to 
signify  the  afflictive  and  wasting  etiects 
of  a  judgment  which  at  the  same  time 
falls  short  of  actually  extinguishing  life. 
Thus  the  Psalmist  says  of  this  and  the 
preceding  plague  of  frogs,  Ps.  78.  45, 
'  He  sent  divers  sorts  of  flies  among 
them,  which  devoured  them  (Oii^i^i 
yokelum)  ;  and  frogs  which  destroyed 
them  (Drnri'L'n  tashhWum,  corrupted 
them).''  It  is  probably  to  this  judgment 
more  especially  that  the  author  of  the 
Book  of  Wisdom  alludes  when  he  says, 
ch.  16.  8 — 10,  'And  indeed  thou  madest 
thine  enemies  to  confess  that  it  is  thou 
who  deliverest  from  all  evil :  For  them 
the  bitings  of  grasshoppers  and  flies 
killed,  neither  was  there  found  any  re- 
medy for  their  life  :  for  they  were  wor- 
thy to  be  punished  by  such.  But  thy 
sons  not  the'very  teeth  of  venomous 
dragons  overcame,  for  thy  mercy  was 
ever  by  them.'  It  is,  however,  but  fair 
to  remark  that  some  commentators  of 
note  suppose  that  the  '  corruption'  or 
Vol.    I  10 


so  to  do ;  for  we  shall  sacrifice  y  the 
abomination  of  the  Egyptians  to 
the  Lord  our  God :  Lo,  shall  we 
sacrilice  the  abomination  of  the 
Egyptians  before  their  eyes,  and 
will  they  not  stone  us  i 


y  Gen.  43.  32.  & 
12.  31 


34.     Deut.  7.  25,  26.  & 


'  destruction'  of  the  land  here  mentioned 
was  the  spoiling,  devouring,  or  consum- 
ing of  the  fruits  of  the  land,  the  herbage, 
the  young  grain,  the  pasture  grounds, 
&c.  If  the  plague  consisted  of  swarms 
o[  beetles,  this  is  not  an  improbable  sup- 
position. 

25.  Go  ye,  sacrifice  to  your  God  in  the 
land.  It  is  evident  that  each  successive 
plague  thus  far  exceeded  in  intensity 
that  which  went  before  it,  and  so  griev- 
ous was  the  present,  that  with  a  view 
to  its  removal  Pharaoh  sent  for  Moses 
and  Aaron  and  proposed  to  them  a  com- 
promise. Unable  to  bear  the  torment- 
ing scourge,  and  yet  unwilling  lo  resign 
his  grasp  of  his  Hebrew  bondmen,  he 
flatters  himself  that  by  a  half-way  meas- 
ure he  nay  secure  himself  from  injury 
in  both  respects.  He  consents  that  they 
should  sacrifice  to  their  God,  provided 
they  Avould  do  it  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 

26.  Moses  said,  It  is  not  meet  so  to  do. 
Heb.  p  nTL::2'b  '^llDD  iO  lo  nakon  laas- 
oth  k'tn,  it  is  not  appointed,  ordained, 
constituted,  so  to  do.  The  reply  of  Mo- 
ses was  prompt  and  decided.  He  knew 
his  duty  too  well  thus  to  depart,  in  the 
least  degree,  from  the  strict  import  of 
his  instructions.  Imj)licit  obedience  was 
his  only  rule  of  conduct,  and  by  adher- 
ing in  the  most  inflexible  manner  to  the 
expressed  will  of  Jehovah,  the  name  of 
Moses  has  come  dowTi  to  the  latest  gen- 
eration honored  by  the  testimony  of 
■pre-emmoixt  fidelity — '  Moses  wdiS  faith- 
ful in  all  his  house.'  Far  from  accept- 
ing this  concession,  he  tells  Pharaoh 
there  is  no  alternative.  His  entire  re- 
quisition must  be  complied  with,  or  it 
would  amount  to  nothing.     He  more- 


no 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


27  We  will  2:0  2  three  days'  jour- 
ney into  tlie  wilderness,  and  sacri- 
fice to  the  Lord  our  God,  as  a  he 
shall  command  us. 

2  ch.  3. 18.    »  ch.  3. 12. 

over  condescends  to  state  the  reason 
why  it  is  impossible  to  listen  to  such  a 
proposal.  He  in  effect  presents  his  ob- 
jections in  the  form  of  a  dilemma:  If 
we  sacrifice  here,  we  must  do  it  either 
after  the  manner  of  the  Egyptians,  or 
of  the  Israelites.  If  after  their  manner, 
that  would  be  an  abomination  to  the 
Lord  our  God ;  if  after  our  own  man- 
ner, that  would  be  an  abomination  to 
them,  and  they  will  stone  us  ;  for  they 
will  not  endure  to  see  us  slay  those  ani-- 
mals  for  sacrifice,  which  they  adore  as 
deities.  Chal.  'For  the  beasts  which  the 
Egyptians  worship,  shall  we  offer  for  sa- 
crifice ;  lo,  shall  we  offer  for  sacrifice  the 
beasts  which  the  Egyptians  worship  ?' 

27.  As  he  shall  command  us.  The  Is- 
raelites knew  not,  therefore,  precisely 
in  what  manner  they  should  serve  the 
Lord,  till  they  came  to  the  place  ap- 
pointed. So  Moses  says,  ch.  10.  26, 
'We  know  not  with  what  we  must  serve 
the  Lord  until  we  come  thither.' 

28.  Only  ye  shall  not  go  very  far  axcay. 
The  haughty  monarch  still  shrinks  from 
an  unconditional  submission  to  the  man- 
date of  heaven.  He  will  yield  the  form- 
er point,  and  allow  them  to  go  out  of 
Egypt,  but  then  they  must  agree  not  to 
go  very  far  array, — a  stipulation  of 
which  the  object  evidently  was  to  keep 
them  still  within  his  reach.  In  this, 
and  still  more  clearly  in  the  subsequent 
incidents,  the  king  betrays  his  suspicion 
that  under  the  plea  of  going  into  the 
wilderness  to  worship  their  God,  the 
real  intention  of  the  Hebrews  was  to 
make  their  escape  from  his  power  al- 
together. Indeed  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  real  question  before  Pharaoh 
was  not  merely  the  ostensible  matter, 
whether  the  Hebrews  were  to  be  allow- 


2S  And  Pharaoh  said,  I  will  let  you 
go,  that  ye  may  sacrihce  to  the  Lorp 
your  God  in  the  wilderness :  only 
ye  shall  not  go  very  far  away  : 
b  entreat  for  me. 

b  ver.  8.  ch.  9.  28.    1  Kings  13.  6. 


ed  a  week's  holiday,  to  go  and  hold 
their  feast  in  the  desert,  but  whether  he 
was  henceforth  to  lose  entirely  so  con- 
siderable and  so  useful  a  part  of  the 
population  of  the  kingdom.  This  was 
the  Egyptian  view  of  the  question ;  to 
which  is  to  be  added  the  apprehension 
that  becoming  thus  independent  of  their 
control,  they  might  one  day  resolve 
themselves  into  a  very  dangerous  hos- 
tile power  on  the  frontiers,  whether  in 
the  desert  as  pastoral  nomades,  or  as  a 
settled  people  in  Palestine.  Viewing 
the  matter  thus,  as  the  Egyptian  king 
unquestionably  did,  his  conduct,  though 
no  more  excusable,  is  somewhat  less 
surprising.  It  goes  to  illustrate  his  po- 
sition to  bear  in  mind,  that  he  could  say 
he  had  not  brought  them  into  bondage. 
They  had  labored  for  a  century  in  the 
public  service  ;  whence  the  king,  or  few 
Egyptians  then  living,  had  ever  knoA\Ti 
them  otherwise  than  as  bondsmen,  and 
few,  if  any  Hebrews  then  living,  could 
remember  when  they  were  free.  In 
these  circumstances  it  may  justly  be 
doubted  whether  there  is  now  any  state 
having  bondsmen,  however  acquired, 
which  would  consent  to  part  with  them 
on  much  easier  terms  than  the  urgent 
compulsion  to  which  God  had  recourse 
with  Pharaoh.  Corrupt  human  nature 
has  ever  shown  an  inveterate  pertinaci- 
ty in  holding  on  to  a  usurped  dominion 
over  a  nation  or  community  of  slaves. 
No  matter  how  clear  their  right  to  be 
free,  or  how  great  the  injustice  or  op- 
pression of  detaining  them  in  bondage, 
yet  for  the  most  part  men  will  '  harden 
their  hearts,' just  as  did  Pharaoh,  in  re- 
sisting the  claims  of  justice,  and  will 
,  resign  their  asserted  possessions  only 
I  with  their  lives. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Ill 


29  And  Moses  said,  Bcliold,  I  go 
out  from  thee,  and  I  will  entreat 
the  Loni)  that  the  swarms  of  fJirs 
may  depart  from  Pharaoh,  from 
his  servants,  and  from  his  people, 
to-morrow:  but  let  not  Pharaoh 
c  deal  deceitfully  any  more,  in  not 
letting  the  people  go  to  sacrifice  to 
the  Lord. 

30  And  Moses  went  out  from  Pha- 
raoh, and  J  entreated  the  Lord: 

31  And  the  Lord  did  according  to 
the  word  of  Moses :  and  he  removed 
the  swarms  of  jiics  from  Phara- 
oh, from  his  servants,  and  from 
his  people;  there  remained  not 
one. 

<:  ver.  15.    d  ver.  \1. 


29—32.  /  will  entreat  the  Lord.  As 
Pharaoh  had  appended  to  liis  proposal 
a  request  that  Moses  vould  intercede 
for  hun  with  tlie  Lord  for  the  removal 
of  the  plague,  he  expresses  his  readuiess 
to  do  so,  but  he  at  the  same  time  bids 
him  beware  of  acting  any  more  deceit- 
fully with  the  Lord  or  his  servants. 
Those  that  have  once  been  perfidious 
are  justly  liable  to  suspicion,  and  lliere- 
fore  have  no  grounds  to  take  it  ill  that 
they  are  admonished  on  this  score  in  re- 
gard to  the  future.  With  what  pro- 
priety Moses  exhorted  Pharaoh  to  be- 
ware of  violating  his  promise  again  ap- 
pears from  the  sequel.  No  sooner  was 
this  calamity  over-past,  than  like  a  beat 
bow  the  spirit  of  the  king  sprung  back 
to  its  former  habitual  obstinacy,  and 
heedless  of  the  admonition  and  of  his 
ov\Ti  word,  he  refused  to  let  the  peo- 
ple go. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
In  four  successive  plagues  of  con- 
stantly increasing  severity  had  Pharaoh 
already  been  made  to  feel  the  ligliting 
down  of  the  h<'avy  arm  of  the  divine  in- 
dignation, without  yet  being  brought  to 
submit  to  the  mandate  of  heaven.  He 
consequently  yet  stands  a  mark  for  the 


32  And  Pharaoh  e  hardened  his 
heart    at    this    time   also,  neither 
would  he  let  the  people  go. 
CHAPTER   IX. 

THEN  the  Loi!  d  said  unto  Moses, 
a  Go  in  unto  Pharaoh,  and  tell 
him,  Thus  saith  the  Loud  God  of 
the  Hebrews,  Let  my  people  go, 
that  they  may  serve  me. 

2  For  if  thou  b  refuse  to  let  'Aem 
go,  and  wilt  hold  them  still. 

3  Behold,  the  c  hand  of  the  Lord 
is  upon  thy  cattle  which  is  in  the 
field,  upon  the  horses,  upon  the 
asses,  upon  the  camels,  upon  the 
oxen,  and  upon  the  sheep :  there 
shall  be  a  very  grievous  murrain. 

e  ver.  ]5.  ch.  4.  21.  .idi.  8.  1.  bch.  8.  2. 
c  ch.  7.  4. 

arrows  from  Jehovah's  quiver.  His  last 
recent  breach  of  faith  was  so  gross  an 
affront  both  to  God  and  to  Moses,  that 
we  might  have  looked  for  the  infliction  of 
another  judgment  without  the  least  pre- 
monition. But  warning  is  here  given  of 
another  plague  of  still  more  deadly  na- 
ture than  any  of  tlie  preceding,  in  case  he 
should  persist  in  refusing  to  let  the  peo- 
ple go.  Would  that  his  compliance  had 
sjjared  the  historian  the  necessity  of  re- 
lating any  thing  but  the  threatening .' 
But  alas  !  we  pass  directly  into  the  nar- 
rative of  its  execution. 

2.  Wilt  hold  Ihcm  still.  Heb.  p'^Tn?3 
^'2.  mahazik  bam,  strengtheneat  upon 
them;  i.e.  forcibly  detaining  them. 

3.  Behold,  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is 
upon  the  cattle,  &c.  Heb.  mni  T^ 
rT^lil  yad  Yehovah  hoyah,  the  hand  of 
the  Lord  (is)  being  (i.  e.  made  to  be) 
upon  the  cattle,  &c.  Carrying  still  the 
future  import  which  so  frequently  per- 
tains to  the  present  participle.  The 
plague  in  this  instance  was  to  come  di- 
rectly from  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  with- 
out tlic  intermediate  wielding  or  wav- 
ing of  Aaron's  rod. IT  A  very  griev- 
ous murrain.  Ileb.  ~it^?2  1"^  "im  dcber 
kabed  Tneod,  a  pestilence  very  heavy;  i.e. 
a  very  great  and  general  mortality,  as 


112 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1941. 


4  And  "i  tlie  Lord  shall  sever  be- 
tween the  cattle  of  Israel,  and  the 
cattle  of  Egypt :  and  there  shall 
nothing  die  of  all  that  is  the  chil- 
dren's of  Israel. 

5  And  the  Lord  appointed  a  set 

dch.  8.22. 


appears  from  v.  6.  The  original  word 
for  '  murrain,'  when  applied  to  men,  is 
translated  'pestilence,'  and  is  rendered 
in  the  Gr.  both  here  and  elsewhere^  by 
Oavaroi^  death.  See  Note  on  Ex.  5.  3.  Our 
English  word  '  murrain'  comes  either 
from  the  French  mourir,  to  die,  or  from 
the  Greek  iiaoaivo),  to  grow  lean,  to 
uvsfe  aivay.  It  is  with  us  applied  to  a 
a  particular  contagious  disease  among 
cattle,  the  symptoms  of  which  are  a 
hanging  down  and  swelling  of  the  head, 
abundance  of  gum  in  the  eyes,  rattling 
in  the  throat,  difficulty  of  breathing, 
palpitation  of  the  heart,  staggering,  a 
hot  breath,  and  a  shining  tongue  ;  all 
which  symptoms  prove  that  a  general 
inflammation  has  taken  place.  But  as 
no  particular  disorder  is  here  specified, 
mortality  would  have  been  a  better  rend- 
ering. There  was  a  peculiar  affliction 
in  the  judgment  of  the  murrain,  not  only 
from  the  Egyptians  being  dependent  on 
their  animals  in  various  ways  for  their 
sustenance  and  comfort,  but  also  from 
tlieir  being  compelled  to  witness  their 
excruciating  sufferings  without  the  pow- 
er of  affording  relief.  The  poor  beasts 
themselves  were  guiltless  of  wrong,  yet 
having  their  being  under  a  constitution 
in  which  they  are  a  sort  of  appendage 
to  man,  they  are  made  subject  to  suffer- 
ing by  reason  of  his  sin,  or  as  Jeremiah 
expresses  it,  ch.  12.  4,  'For  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  land,  the  beasts  are  con- 
sumed.' This  infliction  therefore  was 
a  trial  to  Pharaoh  and  the  Egyptians 
whether  they  would  be  at  all  wrought 
upon  by  a  view  of  the  effects  of  their 
sin  as  evinced  in  the  sufferings  of  the 
imoflTendmg  brute  creation.  At  the  same 
time,  m  order  to  impress  them  still  more 


time,  saying.  To-morrow  the  Lord 
shall  do  this  thing  in  the  land. 

6  And  the  Lord  did  that  thing  on 
the  morrow,  and  e  all  the  cattle  of 
Egypt  died  :  but  of  the  cattle  of  the 
children  of  Israel  died  not  one. 

ePs.T8.50. 


forcibly  with  the  displeasure  of  God 
against  them,  the  Israelites,  whom  they 
so  much  despised  and  oppressed,  were 
entirely  exempt  from  this  calamity. 

5.  To-morroio  the  Lord  shall  do  this 
thing  in  the  land.  The  fixing  of  the 
time  in  this  manner  would  make  the 
judgment  when  it  came  the  more  re- 
markable. '  We  know  not  what  any  day 
will  bring  forth,  and  therefore  cannot 
say  what  we  will  do  to-morrow,  but 
God  can.'     Henry. 

6.  All  the  cattle  of  Egypt  died.  That 
is,  some  of  all  sorts ;  not  absolutely 
each  and  every  one ;  for  we  find,  v.  19, 
25,  some  remaining  which  were  smitten 
by  a  subsequent  plague.  This  peculiar 
usage  of  the  Avord  'all,'  as  denoting 
some  of  all  kinds,  instead  of  the  a6*o- 
lute  totality  of  the  number  spoken  of, 
is  of  great  importance  to  a  right  un- 
derstanding of  the  sacred  Scriptures 
throughout.  Thus,  1  Tim.  2.  4,  'Who 
will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to 
come  unto  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  ;' 
i.e.  all  classes  and  ranks  of  men  ;  for 
he  had  just  before  exhorted  that  prayers 
should  be  made  for  '  kings  and  for  all 
that  are  in  authority ;'  implying,  that 
as  no  order  of  men  are  placed  without 
the  pale  of  salvation,  so  none  sliould 
be  left  out  of  the  supplications  of  the 
saints.  In  like  manner  it  is  to  be  ob- 
served, that  while  in  v.  25.  of  this  chap- 
ter it  is  said  that  '  the  hail  smote  every 
herb  of  the  field,'  in  ch.  10.  15,  we  are 
told  that  the  locusts  ate  '  every  herb  of 
the  land  which  the  hail  had  left.''  For 
a  full  and  interesting  illustration  of  this 
phraseology,  see  J.  P.  Smith's  Geology 
and  Scripture  Compared,  p.  247,  in  res- 
pect to  the  universality  of  the  deluge. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


113 


7  And  Pharaoh  sent,  and  behold, 
there  was  not  one  of  tlie  catile  of 
the  Israelites  dead.  And  f  the  heart 
of  Pharaoh  was  hardened,  and  he 
did  not  let  the  people  c^o. 

8  \\  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses 
and  unto  Aaron,  Take  to  you  hand- 
fuls  of  ashes  of  the  furnace,  and  let 
Moses  sprinkle  it  toward  the  hea- 
ven in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh. 

9  And  it  shall  become  small  dust 

fch.  7.  14.  &8.  32. 


7.  And  Pharaoh  sent,  &c.  This  shows 
that  he  was  at  least  somewhat  impress- 
ed by  the  plague  as  a  calamity  of  very 
marvellous  operation.  His  sending  to 
ascertain  the  fact  of  the  Israelites'  ex- 
emption indicates  that  he  was  not  satis- 
fied with  reports  to  that  elfect.  But 
whether  the  result  of  the  mission  con- 
vinced him  that  the  hand  of  God  was  in 
the  affliction  or  not,  it  is  clear  that  no 
permanent  good  impression  was  made 
upon  him.  His  heart  remained  still  un- 
softened,  and  he  refused  to  let  Israel  go. 

8.  Take  to  you  handfuls  of  ashes  of 
the  furnace,  &c.  Something  similar  to 
this  is  still  to  be  recognized  in  the  ma- 
ledictory usages  of  the  East.  'When 
the  magicians  pronounce  an  impreca- 
tion on  an  individual,  a  village,  or  a 
country,  they  take  ashes  of  cow's  dung 
(or  from  a  common  fire,)  and  throw 
them  in  the  air,  saying  to  the  objects 
of  their  displeasure,  such  a  sickness,  or 
such  a  curse,  shall  surely  come  upon 
you.'  Roberts.  The  obstinacy  of  Pha- 
raoh under  such  an  accumulation  of 
calls,  warnings,  and  judgments  was  be- 
coming continually  a  sin  of  a  more  and 
more  aggravated  character,  and  it  was 
therefore  fitting  that  the  punishments  it 
incurred  should  also  be  of  a  growing  in- 
tensity. As  the  ravages  of  the  pesti- 
lence that  had  wasted  their  flocks  and 
herds  had  proved  unavailing,  a  plague 
was  now  to  be  sent  that  should  seize 
their  bodies  and  touch  them  to  the 
quick.    The^eb.  term  for  'ashes,'  as 

10* 


in  all  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  shall 
be  -i  a  boil  breaking  forth  with  blains 
upon  man,  and  upon  beast,  through- 
out all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

10  And  they  took  ashes  of  the  fur- 
nace, and  stood  before  Pharaoh ; 
and  Moses  sprinkled  it  up  toward 
heaven  :  and  it  became  h  a  boil 
breaking  forth  loith  blains  upon 
man,  and  upon  beast. 

sRev.  16.  2.     hDeut.  28.  27. 


it  comes  from  a  root  signifying  '  to 
blow,'  properly  denotes  the  fine  cine- 
real  particles  which  are  carried  off"  in 
the  dense  clouds  of  smoke  arising  from 
a  furnace.  The  original  for  'furnace'  sig- 
nifies also  a  '  lime-kiln  or  brick-kiln ;' 
and  as  these  were  among  the  instru- 
ments of  oppression  to  the  Israelites,  it 
was  fitting  that  they  should  be  convert- 
ed to  a  means  of  chastisement  to  the 
Egyptians,  for  God  oftentimes  makes 
men  to  recognize  their  sin  in  their  pun- 
ishment. 

9.  It  shall  become  dust,  &c.;  i.  e.  it 
shall  by  a  miraculous  diffusion  become 
a  fine  cinder-like  sleet  floating  in  the 
atmosphere  above  the  surface  of  the 
earth  like  a  cloud  of  dust  which  does 
not  subside,  and  wherever  it  lights  up- 
on the  persons  of  men  causing  a  '  boil 
breaking  forth  with  blains.'  Heb. '  boil 
budding,  germinating,  or  efflorescing 
with  pustules  or  blisters.'  The  original 
term  for  '  boil,'  pri'IJ  shehin,  denotes 
an  inflammation,  which  gives  us  the  true 
sense  of  the  obsolete  word  '  blains,'  ac- 
companied with  a  sense  of  tormenting 
heat,  which  first  produces  a  morbid  tu- 
mor, and  then  a  malignant  ulcer.  In 
Job,  2.  7,  8,  the  word  occurs  in  the  sense 
of  a  burning  itch  or  an  inflamed  scab, 
which  Job  could  not  remove  with  his 
nails,  and  was  therefore  obliged  to  make 
use  of  a  potsherd,  or  fragment  of  a 
,  broken  earthen  vessel,  for  the  purpose. 
j  In  the  case  of  the  Egyptians,  the  '  She- 
1  hin'  was  of  a  still  more  virulent  nature, 


lU 


EXODUS. 


[B.C.  1491. 


11  And  the  >  magicians  could  not 
stand  before  Moses,  because  of  the 
boil :  for  the  boil  was  upon  the 
magicians,  and  upon  all  the  Egyp- 
tians. 

12  And  the  Lord  hardened  the 
heart  of  Pharaoli,  and  he  hearkened 
not  unto  them  ;  ^as  the  Lord  had 
spoken  unto  Closes. 

13  H  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 

«ch.  8.  18, 19.    2Tim.  3.  9.    k  ch.  4.  21. 

so  that  they  were  in  fact  visited  with  a 
treble  punishment  at  once,  viz.  aching 
boils,  nauseous  ulcers,  and  burning  itch. 
To  this  severe  plague  the  threatening 
of  Moses,  Deut.  28.  21,  obviously  has 
reference;  'The  Lord  will  smite  thee 
with  the  botch  of  Egypt,  and  with  the 
emerods,  and  with  the  scab,  and  with 
the  itch  whereof  thou  canst  not  be  heal- 
ed.' The  Gr.  renders  it  by  c^koc,  ulcer, 
which  occurs.  Rev.  16.  2,  Avhich  in  our 
version  is  translated  '  noisome  and  griev- 
ous sore.'  The  judgment  of  the  first 
vial,  therefore,  considered  in  the  letter, 
was  similar  to  that  of  the  sixth  plague 
ofEg>-pt. 

11.  The  magicians  could  not  stand  be- 
fore Moses.  They  had  probably  hither- 
to continued  to  linger  about  the  person 
of  Pharaoh,  confirming  him  in  his  ob- 
stinate refusal  to  let  the  people  go,  and 
pretending  that  though  Moses  had  thus 
far  performed  works  beyond  their  skill, 
yet  they  should  doubtless  be  too  hard 
for  him  at  last ;  but  now,  being  seized 
with  these  loathsome  and  painful  ul- 
cers, they  were  utterly  confounded,  and 
quitting  the  court  in  disgrace,  wer« 
henceforth  no  more  heard  of.  See  an 
allusion  to  this  part  of  the  sacred  his- 
tory, 2  Tim.  3.  S,  9. 

12.  And  the  Lord  hardened  the  heart 
of  Pharaoh.  Ueh. 'p^TI''^  yehazzik.  On 
the  import  of  the  term,  see  Note  on  Ex. 
4.  21.  God  had  there  threatened  that 
he  would  harden  Pharaoh's  heart,  but 
we  do  not,  until  we  come  to  the  present 
passage,  find  it  expressly  said  that  he 


ses,  J  Rise  up  early  in  the  morning, 
and  stand  before  Pliaraoh,  and  say 
unto  him,  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
God  of  the  Hebrews,  Let  my  peo- 
ple go,  that  they  may  serve  me. 

14  For  I  will  at  this  time  send  all 
my  plagues  upon  thine  heart,  and 
upon  thy  servants,and  upon  thypeo- 
ple  :  m  that  thou  mayest  know  that 
there  is  none  like  me  in  all  the  earth. 

lch.8.  20.    mch.  8.  10. 


did  harden  it.  Here,  it  is  true,  the 
eflfect  is  ascribed  to  the  divine  agency, 
but  after  what  we  have  remarked  at 
so  much  length  on  this  subject  in  that 
place,  the  reader  will  scarcely  be  in 
danger  of  putting  a  wrong  construction 
on  the  words.  It  is  not  to  be  understood 
that  God,  by  a  positive  act,  created  any 
hardness  of  heart  in  Pharaoh,  or  that 
he  immediately  put  forth  any  influence 
to  render  him  callous  and  incapable  of 
right  feeling.  He  had  before  harden- 
ed his  own  heart  by  resisting  both  the 
grace  and  the  wrath  of  heaven,  and  no- 
thing more  is  meant  by  the  expression 
before  us,  than  that  God  was  pleased  to 
leave  him  under  the  control  of  his  own 
strong  delusions,  and  so  to  order  the 
events  of  his  providence  as  to  make  him 
more  and  more  obstinate.  In  no  other 
sense  did  God  harden  his  heart,  than  by 
permitting  him  to  rush  forward  in  pre- 
cisely such  a  course  of  rebellion  as 
would  issue  in  his  hardening  his  own 
heart.  But  even  this  was  a  fearful  judg- 
ment, and  one  that  speaks  awfully  to 
those  who  do  violence  to  their  own  con- 
sciences and  sin  with  a  high  hand. 

14.  I  will  send  all  my  plagues  upon 
thine  heart.  In  again  repeating  his  de- 
mand for  his  people's  deliverance,  and 
his  threatenings  against  Pharaoh's  dis- 
obedience, the  Most  High  makes  a  stal- 
ling and  terrible  declaration.  If  lesser 
judgments  do  not  do  their  work,  God 
will  send  greater.  Moses  is  charged  to 
tell  Pharaoh  that,  in  the  plagues  that 
remained  to  be  inflicted  there  would  be 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


115 


15  For  now  I  will  n  stretch  out  I  and   thy  people  with   pestilence ; 

my  hand,  that  I  may  smite  thee  I  and  thou  shall  be  cut  off  from  the 

nch.3.20.  earth. 


a  kind  of  concentrated  terribleness,  so 
that  each  one  should  come  upon  him  as 
if  with  the  accumulated  weight  of  all 
the  rest.  What  he  had  already  experi- 
enced was  indeed  grievous,  but  it  should 
be  nothuig  compared  to  what  was  to 
follow.  They  were  to  be  such  plagues 
as  should  not  only  endanger  the  body, 
but  smite  the  heart,  the  inner  man. 
They  should  penetrate 'the  inward  spirit 
with  such  indescribable  pangs  of  ter- 
ror, that  it  would  seem  as  if  the  whole 
magazine  of  heaven's  vengeance  Avere 
opened  upon  him  and  his  people.  This 
seems  to  be  what  is  intended  by  the 
language — '  I  will  at  this  time  send  all 
my  plagues  upon  thine  heart,'  where 
we  are  probably  to  understand  by  'this 
time,'  the  time  occupied  by  the  whole 
ensuing  course  of  judgments  that  should 
finally  end  in  the  utter  destruction  of 
Pharaoh. 

15.  For  now  I  ivill  stretch  out  my 
hand  that  I  may  smite,  &c.  Heb.  rir.5?  "^Z 
"ji<1  "i-"^  r,i«  "nnbr  ki  attah  shalahti  eth 
yadi  va-ak,for  now  have  I  sent  forth  my 
hand  and  smitten.  The  true  construction 
is  somewhat  ambiguous.  The  verbs  in 
the  original  undoubtedly  require  a  past 
rendering,  though  the  Greek,  with  our 
own  and  several  other  versions,  give  the 
future.  But  it  does  not  appear  in  what 
sense  Pharaoh  and  his  people  could  be 
said  to  have  been  cut  off  by  pestilence, 
as  they  were  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea,  un- 
less the  term  be  taken  in  the  general 
sense  oi  mortality,  lo  which  it  is  proba- 
bly a  valid  objection,  that  the  original 
has  the  definite  article  ("lZ~2=13"in3 
by  the  pestilence)  implying  a  particular 
pestilence.  At  the  same  time,  if  it  be 
applied  to  the  past,  it  is  evident  that  it 
must  be  understood  in  a  qualified  and 
hypothetical  rather  than  in  an  absolute 
sense  ;  for  Pharaoh  had  not  yet  been 
really  cut  olT  from   the    earth.      But 


the  idiom  of  the  original  will  easily 
admit  of  this  conditional  import  of  the 
passage,  and  we  may  consider  the  mean- 
ing of  the  divine  speaker  as  fairly  repre- 
sented by  the  following  parajihrase, 
which  is  largely  sustained  by  Rabbini- 
cal and  other  critical  authorities:  'For 
I  had,  or  could  have,  stretched  out  my 
hand  (i.  e.  in  the  plague  of  the  murrain 
which  destroyed  so  many  of  the  beasts, 
and  could  easily  have  numbered  thee 
among  its  victims,)  and  I  had  (poten- 
tially,  though  not  in  actual  fact)  smitten 
thee  and  thy  people  with  (that)  pesti- 
lence, and  thou  wert  (as  good  as)  cut 
ojf  from  the  earth.'  On  the  same  prin- 
ciple it  is  said,  Luke,  5.  6,  '  They  en- 
closed a  great  multitude  of  fishes  ;  and 
their  net  brake  ;'  i.  e.  if  we  may  so  ex- 
press it,  the  net,  considered  in  itself, 
brake,  but  was  kept  whole  by  the  power 
of  God  ;  for  had  it  actually  broken,  the 
fi^h  would  have  escaped,  whereas  it  is 
said,  'they  filled  both  the  ships,  so  that 
they  began  to  sink.'  In  like  manner,  if 
we  mistake  not,  it  is  said,  Ps.  105.  26 — 
28,  '  He  sent  Moses  his  servant ;  and 
Aaron  whom  he  had  chosen.  They 
showed  his  signs  among  them,  and  won- 
ders.in  the  land  of  Ham.  He  sent  dark- 
ness and  made  it  dark  ;  and  they  rebel- 
led not  against  his  word.'  That  is, 
there  was  such  an  intrinsic  moral  power 
in  these  miracles  to  beget  belief,  to 
work  submission  and  compliance  ;  they 
were  in  themselves  so  convincing,  so 
overpowering,  so  absolutely  charged 
with  demonstration  ;  that  the  writer 
speaks  as  if  it  would  be  an  abuse  of 
language  in  him,  equal  to  the  abuse  of 
reason  in  them,  not  to  admit  tlie  actual 
working  of  the  legitimate  effect.  He 
saj's,  therefore,  that  'they  (the  Egyp- 
I  tians)  rebelled  not  against  his  word,' 
I  because  the  word  came  attended  with 
such  a  flood  of  evidence  that  there  was 


116 


EXODUS 


[B.  C.  1491. 


16  And  ill  very  deed  for  ^  this 
cavsc  have  I  raised  tlice  up,  for  to 
shew  in  ihee  my  power ;  and  that 

o  Rom.  9.  17.     Sec  ch.  14.  17.     Trov.  16.  4. 

1  ret.  i.  y. 

a  kind  of  moral  paradox,  or  absurdity, 
or  impossibiUty  in  supposing  that  it  did 
not  proiUue  obedience,  although  such 
was  indeed  the  fact.  In  the  passage 
before  us  ve  conceive  that  God  designs 
to  assure  Pharaoh,  that  considering  his 
liabihty  to  have  been  cut  off  by  the  pre- 
ceding plague,  he  may  regard  himself 
as  having  been  in  effect  a  dead  man ; 
'nevertheless,'  says  he,  'for  this  cause 
have  I  raised  thee  up.'  Heb.  'Have  I 
made  thee  to  stand  ;'  i.  e.  have  preserved 
thee  safe  in  the  midst  of  danger,  'for  to 
show  in  thce,^&c.'  The  word  translated 
'raised  u])'  docs  not  signify  to  bring  into 
existence,  but  to  cause  to  stand,  to  make 
to  continue.  Thus,  1  Kings,  15.  4, 
'Nevertheless  for  David's  sake  did  the 
Lord  his  God  give  him  a  lamp  in  Jeru- 
salem, to  set  up  his  son  after  him,  and 
to  establish  Jerusalem.'  Heb.  'To  make 
to  stand,'  i.  e.  to  preserve.  Prov.  29.  4, 
'The  king  by  judgment  esfaWis/ic^/i  the 
land.'  Heb.  '  Makes  to  stand ;'  i.  e. 
renders  safe.  So  also  Ex.  21.21,  'If  he 
continue  a  day  or  two.'  Heb.  '  If  he 
stand  a  day  or  two  ;'  i.  e.  survive.  Paul, 
however,  in  quoting  this  passage,  Rom. 
9.  17,  employs  the  term  '  raised  up,' 
which  will  occasion  no  difficulty,  if  it 
be  borne  in  mind  that  a  person  may  be 
said  to  be  'raised  up'  who  is  preserved 
alive  when  in  danger  of  dying,  a  usage 
of  the  word  which  occurs  James,  5.  1.5. 
'And  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the 
sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up.'' 
It  was  in  this  sense  of  being  spared 
from  imminent  destruction  that  Pha- 
raoh was  raised  up.  Among  the  an- 
cient versions  the  Chal.  has  'For  now 
it  was  near  before  me  (i.  e.  it  lacked 
but  little)  that  I  had  sent  out  the  stroke 
of  my  strength  and  thou  hadst  been  con- 
sumed.'   Arab.  'Because  if  I  had  given 


my  name  may  be  declared  through- 
out all  the  earth. 

17  As  yet  exaltest  thou  thyself 
against  my  people,  that  thou  wilt 
not  let  them  go  ? 


a  loo.se  to  my  power,  I  should  have  de- 
stroyed thee  and  thy  people,  and  thou 
wouldst  have  been  eradicated  ;  but  I 
have  reserved,  &c.'  Taking  the  words 
in  this  sense  we  may  gather,  (1)  That 
however  men  may  forget  or  disregard 
former  judgments,  God  remembers  them, 
and  that  sooner  or  later  he  will  remem- 
ber his  enemies  of  them.  (2)  That  as 
a  preservative  against  future  tokens  of 
divine  displeasure,  we  do  well  to  call 
often  to  mind  the  plagues  and  destruc- 
tions from  which  we  have  very  nar- 
rowly, and  through  the  forbearance  of 
heaven,  escaped. 

16.  To  show  in  thee  my  poiver.  Heb. 
"TllD  n5<  "jnj^nn  harotheka  eth  kohi,  to 
make  thee  see  my  power.  This  is  the 
strictly  literal  rendering,  which  is  inti- 
mated by  the  word  '  in'  in  our  trans- 
lation being  printed  in  Italics.  The 
Gr.  however  has  cv  aot,  in  thee,  which 
Paul  also  adopts,  Rom.  9.  17,  leaving  us 
to  infer  that  it  is  the  true  sense.  Conse- 
quently 'iriH^n  harotheka,  make  thee  to 
see,  is  an  elliptical  mode  of  expression 
for  ^'2  rili^^in  haroth  beka,  show  in  or 
by  thee  ;  and  instances  of  similar  usage 
are  easily  adducible.  Thus  Gen.  30.  20, 
'  Now  will  my  husband  dwell  (with) 
me  ("i^^nf  yizbeleni  for  l^^y  IdST*^ 
yizbal  immi).'  Ps.  5.  4,  'Neither  shall 
evil  dwell  (ivith)  thee  ("j'Tl3'^  yegureka 
for  ^^3)  ^l^"^  yegur  immeka).'  Prov, 
8.  36,  'He  that  sinneth  (against)  me 
{'"'i^'cn  hotel  for  "^n  JiuH  hole  bi)  wrong- 
cth  his  own  soul.' 

17.  Exaltest  thou  thyself  against  my 
people?  Heb.  ^^IDD^a  mistolcl,  from 
the  root  ^^0  salal,  to  elevate  or  cast  up. 
The  present  term  is  the  participle  of 
Hithpael,  or  the  reflexive  voice,  and 
seems  to  denote  that  self-elevation  which 
resembles  a  rampart  made  to  oppose  an 


B.  C.  1191. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


117 


18  Behold,  lo-morrow  about  this 
time  I  will  cause  it  to  rain  a  very 
grievous  hail,  such  as  hath  not  been 
in  Egypt  since  the  foundation  there- 
of even  until  now. 

19  Send  therefore  now,  and  gather 
thy  cattle,  and  all  that  thou  hast  in 
the  field  :  for  upon  every  man  and 
beast  which  shall  be  found  in  the 
field,   and   shall  not    be    brought 

enemy.  Gr.  cuttoit;,  thou  hisultest.  Chal. 
id.  Syr. 'Thou  detainest.'  Arab. 'Thou 
hinderest.'  Although  Pharaoh  was  a 
powerful  monarch,  and  God's  people  a 
poor,  degraded,  and  enslaved  raee,  yet  it 
was  to  be  to  his  ruin  that  he  exalted  him- 
self against  them,  inasmuch  as  it  was 
virtually  exalting  himself  against  God. 
No  power  is  too  high  to  be  called  to 
account  for  lording  it  despotically  over 
'  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High.' 

18.  To-morroio  about  this  time.  Gr. 
'At  this  same  hour.'  The  time  is  thus 
accurately  specified,  that  the  effect, 
when  it  occun-ed,  might  not  be  attrib- 
uted to  chance. IT  I  will  cause  it  to 

rain  a  very  grievous  hail.  As  rain  is 
exceedingly  rare,  and  hail  almost  un- 
known in  Egj'pt,  so  formidable  a  hail- 
storm as  that  predicted,  would  be  one  oi' 
the  greatest  marvels  that  could  occur 
in  a  climate  like  that  of  Egypt.  A 
heavy  fall  of  snow  in  July,  would  not 
be  so  great  a  phenomenon  in  our  own 
country,  as  a  heavy  hail-storm  at  any 
time  in  Egypt. IT  Since  the  founda- 
tion thereof.  Heb.  (-llDin  dl^l  y2'b 
lemin  hayom  hivvajsedah,  since  the  day 
of  its  being  founded.  That  is,  since 
its  first  being  inhabited  ;  otiierwise  ex- 
pressed, V.24,  'since  it  became  a  nation.' 
The  Gr.  however  renders  it,  'From  the 
day  of  its  being  created,'  i.  e.  physic- 
ally created.  It  was  at  any  rate  to  be 
a  storm  such  as  never  had  had  a  prece- 
dent in  that  country,  and  for  the  rea- 
son, that  the  occasion  of  it  had  never 
had  a  precedent.  But  unparalleled  judg- 


home,  the  hail  shall  come  down 
upon  them,  and  they  shall  die. 

20  He  that  feared  the  word  of  the 
LoKD  among  the  servants  of  Pha- 
raoh made  his  servants  and  his  cat- 
tle Uee  into  the  houses : 

21  And  he  that  regarded  not  ine 
word  of  the  Lord  left  his  servants 
and  his  cattle  in  the  field. 


ments  may  be  expected  to  overtake  un- 
paralleled offenders. 

19.  Send  therefore  now,  and  gather, 
&c.  Heb.  TS'TI  ha'i'z,  gather  speedily, 
denoting  an  action  to  be  performed  with 
the  utmost  expedition,  as  is  explained 
in  tlie  ensuing  verse,  '  made  to  flee.' 
With  characteristic  clemency  the  Lord 
couples  with  tlie  prediction  a  gracious 
warning,  to  as  many  as  will  heed  it,  to 
send  and  gather  their  servants  and  cat- 
tle out  of  tlie  field,  and  place  them  un- 
der shelter  before  the  appointed  time 
arrived.  So  unwilling  is  God  that  any 
should  perish  that  even  in  the  midst  of 
impending  wrath,  he  kindly  provides 
and  points  out  a  way  of  escape. 

21.  He  that  regarded  not  the  word. 
Heb.  inp  D'J:  5ib  lo  sam  libbo,  that  set 
not  his  heart  to  the  word.  Although 
there  were  some,  even  among  the  serv- 
ants of  Pharaoh,  who  had  been  suffi- 
ciently wrought  upon  by  the  former 
plagues  to  tremble  at  God's  word,  yet 
there  were  others,  and  they  probably 
the  majority,  who  partook  of  the  spirit 
of  their  master,  and  would  not  believe, 
though  the  event  thus  far,  had  in  every 
instance  proved  the  truth  of  Moses'  pre- 
dictions. One  would  have  thought  that 
even  if  there  were  a.  peradventure  that 
the  calamity  might  come,  they  would 
have  chosen  the  safer  side,  and  housed 
their  cattle  for  so  short  a  time,  rather 
than  leave  the  poor  creatures  exposed  to 
perish  in  th?  tempest  ;  but  they  were 
so  fool-hardy  as  in  defiance  of  the  truth 
of  Moses  and  the  power  of  God  to  risk 
the  consequences. 


118 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


22  ^  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo-  ! 
ses,  Stretch  forth  thine  hand  toward 
heaven,  that  there  may  be  p  hail  in  | 
all  tlie  land  of  Egypt,  upon  man,  i 
and   upon  beast,  and   upon  every 
herb  of  the  field,  throughout  the 
land  of  Egypt. 

23  And  Moses  stretched  forth  his 

P  Rev.  16.21. 

23.  The  Lord  sent  thunder  and  hail. 
Heb.  nnm  n^lp  pD  natkan  koloth  u- 
barad,  gave  voices  and  hail.  The  Lord's 
'  voice,'  is  au  expression  often  used  as 
equivalent  to  '  lluuider.'  See  Note  on 
Gen.  3.  8.  Thus  Rev.  6. 1,  'And  I  heard 
as  it  were  the  noise  (</)wi'/7,  voice)  of 
thunder.'  Rev.  10.  3,  'And  when  he 
had  cricfl  (the)  seven  thunders  uttered 

their  voices.' IT  The  fire  ran  along 

upon  the  ground.  Heb.  rn^^!!^  aretzah, 
touards  the  earth.  Tl]is  is  the  exact 
rendering,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  fire  meant  was  the  lightning 
that  accompanied  the  hail.  The  Psalm- 
ist thus  speaks  of  this  judgment,  Ps.  78. 
47,  48,  'He  destroyed  their  vines  and 
their  sycamore-trees  with  frost.  He 
gave  up  their  cattle  also  to  the  hail  and 
their  flocks  to  hot  thunderbolts.'  To 
this  seventh  plague  of  Egypt  is  com- 
pared the  effect  of  the  seventh  vial  of 
the  Apocalypse  ;  Rev.  16.  17—21,  'And 
the  seventh  angel  poured  out  his  vial 
into  the  air  .  .  .  and  there  were  voices, 
and  thunderings,  and  lightnings  ;  and 
there  was  a  great  earthquake,  such  as 
was  not  since  men  were  upon  tlie  earth 
.  .  .  and  there  fell  upon  men  a  great  hail 
out  of  heaven,  every  stone  about  the 
weight  of  a  talent ;'  where  in  the  men- 
tion of  the  hail-stones  there  is  an  allu- 
sion )>robably  to  the  passage  of  Joshua, 
eh.  10.  11,  'The  Lord  cast  down  great 
stones  from  heaven  upon  them  unto 
Azekah,  and  they  tUed  :  they  were  more 
which  died  with  hail-stones  than  the}'^ 
whom  the  children  of  Israel  slew  witli 
the  sword.' 

24.  Fire  mingled  with  the  hail.  Heb. 


rod  toward  heaven,  and  q  the  Lord 
sent  thunder  and  hail,  and  the  fire 
ran  along  upon  the  ground  :  and 
the  Lord  rained  hail  upon  the  land 
of  Egypt. 

24  So  there  was  hail,  and  fire 
mingled  with  the  hail,  very  griev- 

q  Josh.  10  J 1.  Ps.  18.  13.  &  78.  47.  &  105.  32. 
&  148.  8.  Isa.  30.  30.  Ezek.  38.22.  Rev.  8.  7. 


innn  "]ira  r.np^ri>2  r&<  esh  mithiak- 

kahath  bethok  habbarad,  fire  catching 
hold,  infolding,  involving  itself  in  the 
midst  of  the  hail.  The  words  are  no 
doubt  intended  to  depict  a  complication 
of  elemental  terrors  whicli  it  is  not  easy 
distinctly  to  conceive.  Amid  peals  of 
deep  and  portentous  thunder,  the  light- 
ning gleamed  with  terrific  flashes,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  tremendous  hail- 
storm poured  its  fury  over  a  land  of 
which  the  inhabitants  had  probably  ne- 
ver before  witnessed  or  heard  of  a  simi- 
lar phenomenon.  If  a  violent  tempest 
or  tornado  is  an  appalling  occurrence 
in  countries  where  they  are  not  uncom- 
mon, what  overwhelming  dread  must 
this  have  produced  in  Egypt  !  How 
could  they  but  imagine  that  heaven  and 
earth  were  mingling  together  in  wild 
confusion  !  And  then,  when  its  fury 
had  somewhat  abated,  to  behold  the 
desolations  it  had  caused  !  Men  and 
cattle  killed  and  promiscuously  scat- 
tered over  the  fields — all  kinds  of  trees, 
plants,  and  grain  battered  down  and 
destroyed — and  the  whole  face  of  the 
ground  appearing  to  have  been  swept 
by  the  besom  of  destruction!  And  yet, 
to  enhance  the  wonder  still  more,  in 
the  land  of  Goshen  not  a  solitary  vest- 
ige of  the  wide-spreading  havoc  was  to 
be  seen.  Here  all  nature  was  smiling 
unrufHed  in  its  usual  fertility  and  beau- 
ty. "What  a  contrast  between  the  ver- 
dant fields  and  tranquil  flocks  of  the 
one  region,  and  the  fearful  spectacle  of 
scathing  and  ruin  in  the  other  !  'And 
my  people  shall  dwell  in  ■»  peaceable 
habitation,  and  in  sure  dwellings,  and 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


119 


ous,  such  as  there  was  none  like  it 
in  all  the  land  of  Egypt  since  it 
became  a  nation. 

25  And  ihe  hail  smote  throughout 
all  the  land  ol'  Egypt  all  that  ivas  in 
the  held,  both  man  and  beast,  and 
the  hail  remote  every  herb  of  the 
field  and  brake  every  tree  of  the 
field. 

26  s  Only  in  the  land  of  Goshen, 
where  the  children  oi'  Israel  were, 
was  there  no  hail. 

r  Ps.  1()5.  33.  s  ch.  8.  22.  &.  9.  4,  6.  &  10.  23. 
&  11.7.  &  12.  13.     Isai.  32.  18,  19. 


in  quiet  resting-places,  when  it  shall 
hail,  coming  down  on  the  forest  ;  and 
the  city  shall  be  utterly  abased.'  No 
wonder  that  the  visitation  should,  for 
a  time  at  least,  have  overpowered  the 
obduracy  of  Pharaoh,  and  prompted  him 
to  send  in  haste  for  Moses  and  Aaron, 
and  address  them  in  the  language  of  the 
humbled  penitent. 

25.  The  hail  smote  every  herb  of  the 
field.  That  is,  some  of  all  sorts,  as  is 
evident  from  Ex.  10.  15.  Thus,  Acts,  10. 
12,  'Wherein  were  all  manner  of  four- 
footed  beasts  of  the  earth.'  Gr.  Tiavra 
Tu  Terpimia,  all  four-footed  beosts. 

27,  28.  I  have  sinned  this  time.  As 
it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  Pharaoh 
intended  to  limit  this  confession  of  his 
sin  to  the  present  instance  of  his  unbe- 
lief, we  are  no  doubt  authorized  to  ex- 
tend the  import  of  the  phrase  '  this 
time'  to  the  whole  course  of  his  dis- 
obedience during  the  occurrence  of  the 
preceding  jdagues.  This  sense  of  the 
phrase  strikingly  confirms  the  interpre- 
tation put  upon  it  in  v.  14,  as  implying 
the  time  of  a  future  series  of  judgments. 
Overcome  by  the  tremendous  display  of 
the  divine  indignation  which  he  had  just 
witnessed,  and  which  had  proved  fatal 
to  many  of  his  subjects,  he  confessed 
himself  on  the  wrong  side  in  his  contest 
with  the  God  of  the  Hebrews,  declares 
that  he  has  sinned  in  standing  it  out  so 
long,  and  owns  the  equity  of  God's  pro- 
ceedings against  him:  'The  Lord  is  right- 


27  H  And  Pharaoh  sent  and  called 
for  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  said 
unto  thein,  tf  have  sinned  this 
time :  "  the  Lord  is  righteous,  and 
1  and  my  people  arc  wicked. 

28  X  Entreat  the  Loud  (for  it  is 
enough)  that  there  he  no  more 
mighty  thunderings  and  hail ;  and 
1  will  let  you  go,  and  ye  shall  stay 
no  longer. 


tch.   10.  16.     "2Chron.  12.  fi.     Ps.  129.  4 
&  145.  17.     Lam.  1.18.     Dan.  9.  14.     s  ch.  8 

8,  28.  &  10.  17.     Acts  8.  24. 


eons,  and  I  and  my  people  are  wicked. 
Under  the  pressure  of  his  convictions 
he  humbles  himself  still  farther,  and 
entreats  that  this  direful  plague  may  at 
once  be  stayed,  promising  without  any 
qualification  that  tlie  people  shall  be 
dismissed.  Perhaps  he  sincerely  felt 
and  intended  all  that  he  said  at  the  time 
as  the  terror  of  the  rod  often  extorts  peni- 
tent acknowledgments  from  those  that 
have  no  penitent  affections  ;  but  the  re- 
sult proved  tliat  he  knew  little  of  the 
plague  of  his  own  heart,  whatever  he  had 
been  compelled  to  know  of  the  plague 
of  God's  hand.  Moses,  however,  though 
he  evidently  placed  no  reliance  upon 
his  promise,  v.  30,  did  not  hesitate  to 
listen  to  his  request,  and  engaged  at 
once  to  obtain  a  cessation  of  llie  storm; 
thus  teaching  us  that  even  those  of 
whom  we  have  little  hopes,  and  who 
will  probably  soon  repent  of  their  re- 
pentance are  still  to  be  prayed  for  and 

admonished. IT  Rii^hfeous,  kc.  Heb. 

p'^"i2:r;  hatz-lzaddik,  the  righteous  one 
—  D"i5''iZ3'^n  hareshaim,  the  sinners ; 
thus  showing  that  the  original  is  far 
more  emphatic  than  our  translation.  It 
was  equivalent  to  saying  that  he  and 
his  people  fully  deserved  all  that  had 

been  brought  upon  them. IT  Mighty 

thunderings.  Heb.  f^nii^  T^p  koloth 
Elohim,  voices  of  God;  i.e.  loud  and 
deafening  peals  of  thunder,  called  voices 
or  thunderings  of  God  as  '  mountains 
of  God'  are  large  and  lofty  moimtams. 


120 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491, 


29  And  Moses  said  unto  him,  As 
soon  as  I  am  gone  out  of  the  city,  I 
will  y  spread  abroad  my  hands  unto 
the  LoKD ;  and  the  thunder  shall 
cease,  neither  shall  there  be  any 
more  hail ;  that  thou  mayest  know 
how  that  the  •'  earth  is  the  Lord's. 

30  But  as  for  thee  and  thy  ser- 
vants, a  I  know  that  ye  will  not 
yet  fear  the  Lord  God. 

31  And  the  flax  and  the  barley 
was  smitten :  b  for  the  barley  loas 
in  the  ear,  and  the  flax  was  boiled. 

32  But  the  wheat  and  the  rye 

y  1  Kings  8.  22,  38.  Ps.  143.  6.  Isai.  1.  15. 
^  Ps.24.  1.  I  Cor.  10.  26,  28.  a  Isai.  26.  10. 
b  Kutli  1.  22.  &  2.  23. 

See  Note  on  Gen.  23. 6. IT  Shall  stay 

no  longer.  Heb.  -;^5>^  \]^Qt^  ii^  lo 
tosiphun  laamod,  shall  not  add  to  stand. 
dial.  'I  will  detain  you  no  longer.' 

29.  As  soon  as  I  am  gone  out  of  the 
city.  He  Avould  retire  from  the  city  not 
only  for  purposes  of  privacj'^,  in  his  in- 
tercession with  God,  but  also  to  show 
that  he  was  not  afraid  to  expose  him- 
self to  the  action  of  the  elements  in  the 
open  field.  By  thus  venturing  forth  in 
the  midst  of  the  tempest  with  a  perfect 
confidence  of  impunity,  Moses  gave  to 
Pharaoh  a  striking  proof  that  he  was 
the  special  object  of  the  divine  protec- 
tion, and  consequently  that  his  mes- 
sage ought  to  be  diligently  heeded. 

IT  That  thou  mayest  know,  &c.  That 
is,  that  thou  mayest  be  convinced  that 
the  God  of  the  Hebrews  is  no  local  deity 
like  the  fancied  gods  of  Egypt,  but  the 
absolute  and  universal  Sovereign,  hold- 
ing sway  over  all  creatures,  controlling 
the  elements,  and  making  every  depart- 
ment of  nature  obsequious  to  his  will. 
'  See  what  various  methods  God  uses  to 
bring  men  to  their  proper  senses.  Judg- 
ments are  sent,  and  judgments  removed, 
and  all  for  the  same  end,  to  make  men 
know  that  the  Lord  reigns.'     Henry. 

31.  The  fax  vas  boiled.  That  is, 
podded.  Heb.  b:?na  nrirtPi  happlsh- 
tail  gibol.      The  original   word  occurs 


were  not  smitten:  for  they  icere 
not  grown  up. 

33  And  Moses  went  out  of  the  city 
from  Pharaoh,  and  c  spread  abroad 
his  hands  unto  the  Lord:  and  the 
thunders  and  hail  ceased,  and  the 
rain  was  not  poured  upon  the  earth. 

34  And  when  Pharaoh  saw  that 
the  rain  and  the  hail  and  the  thun- 
ders were  ceased,  he  sinned  yet 
more,  and  hardened  his  heart,  he 
and  his  servants. 

35  And  d  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  was 
hardened,  neither  would  he  let  the 
children  of  Israel  go ;  as  the  Lord 
had  spoken  by  Moses. 

ever.  29.  Gil.  8. 12.     dch.4.  21. 


only  here,  and  its  true  import  is  not 
easily  fixed.  Nearly  all  the  ancient  ver- 
sions understand  it  as  intimating  a  stage 
of  maturity  in  the  flax  in  which  it  was 
past  flowering.  We  think  it  probable 
that  the  genuine  scope  of  the  Heb.  term 
expresses  the  formation  of  that  small 
globous  fruit,  pod,  or  capsule  on  the  top 
of  the  stalk  of  flax  which  succeeds  the 
flower,  and  contains  the  seed.  Gr.  'The 
flax  was  in  seed,  or  seeding.'  The 
Egyptians  sowed  all  sorts  of  grain  soon 
alter  the  waters  of  the  Nile  had  sub- 
sided ;  but  flax  and  barley  being  of  more 
rapid  growth  would  at  any  given  time 
be  more  forward  than  wheat  and  rye, 
which  explains  the  circumstance  men- 
tioned in  the  text.  The  interval  be- 
tween the  two  harvests  is  usually  about 
a  month. 

34,  35.  The  thunders  and  the  hail 
ceased.  The  prayer  of  Moses  was  in 
this  case  invested  with  a  power  like 
that  of  Elias,  and  the  two  witnesses  of 
the  Apocalypse,  James,  5.  17,  18.  Rev. 
11.6,  to  open  and  shut  heaven,  and  yet 
the  mercy  now  accorded  to  Pharaoh 
tended  as  little  to  soften  his  heart  as 
the  previous  judgment  had  done.  As 
if  the  sun  which  now  slione  forth  in  the 
clear  sky  and  liardened  tlie  soaked  and 
saturated  earth  had  produced  a  similar 
effect  upon  his  heart,  he  is  merely  em- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  X. 


121 


CHAPTER  X. 

AND  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Go  in  unto  Pharaoh :  a  for  I 
have  hardened  his  heart,  and  the 
heart  of  his  servants ;  b  that  I  might 
shew  these  my  signs  before  him : 

2  And  that  c  thou  mayest  tell  in 
the  ears  of  thy  son,  and  of  thy  son's 
son,  what  things  I  have  wrought  in 
Egypt,  and  my  signs  which  I  have 

ich.4.  21.&7.  14.  bch.  7.4.  <=  Deut.  4.  9. 
Ps.  44. 1.  &  71.  18.  &  78.  5,  <fec.     Joel.  1.  3. 

boldened  by  this  respite  of  wrath  to 
persist  in  a  course  of  more  determined 
rebellion.  Yet  the  language  of  the  text 
implies  that  this  increased  hardness  of 
heart  was  an  increased  measure  of 
guilt:  'He  sinned  yet  more  and  more, 
and  hardened  his  heart ;'  i.  e.  sinned  by 
hardening  his  heart.  God's  foretelling 
the  result,  therefore,  and  permitting  it, 
did  not  go  to  lessen  his  criminality. 


CHAPTER  X. 

1.  Go  in  unto  Pharaoh.  That  is,  to 
renew  the  demand  so  often  made  and 
so  often  resisted  ;  though  this  is  not  in 
so  many  words  asserted  in  the  text. 
We  infer  what  Moses  was  ordered  to 
say  from  what  he  did  say.  Wicked 
men  are  sometimes  to  be  admonished 
even  where  there  is  no  hope  that  they 
will  be  amended.  But  Avhile  the  divine 
message  was  to  be  repeated,  and  new 
tokens  of  the  vengeance  of  God  de- 
nounced as  shortly  to  appear  before 
Pharaoh  and  his  people,  an  additional 
reason  is  assigned  for  the  fearful  pro- 
ceedings thus  far  and  thenceforth  re- 
corded. God  had  providentially  and  per- 
missively  hardened  the  hearts  of  Pha- 
raoh and  his  servants,  in  order  to  take 
occasion  from  the  event  for  the  display 
of  such  signs  and  miracles  as  would 
furnish  a  lesson  never  to  be  forgotten 
to  his  own  people  and  to  their  ])osterity 
to  the  latest  generation.  And  not  to 
them  only,  for  as  the  charge  is  given 
more  immediately,  though  not   exclu- 

VoL.  I  11 


done  among  them ;  that  ye  may 
know  how  that  I  «m  the  Lord. 

3  And  Moses  and  Aaron  came  in 
unto  Pharaoh,  and  said  unto  him, 
Thus  saitli  the  Lord  God  of  the 
Hebrews,  Hoav  long  wilt  thou  re- 
fuse to  d  humble  thyself  before  me  ? 
Let  my  people  go,  that  they  may 
serve  me. 

d  1  Kings  21.  29.  2  Chron.  7.  14.  &  34.  27. 
Job  42.  6.  Jer.  13.  18.  James  4.  10.  1  Pet. 
5.6. 

sively  to  Moses,  we  may  understand  it 
as  an  intimation,  that  these  miraculous 
inflictions  were  to  be  recorded  and  thus 
made  in  his  writings  a  perpetual  source 
of  instruction,  and  admonition  to  the  end 
of  the  world.  This  use  they  are  in  fact 
serving  at.  this  moment.  Wherever  the 
Avord  of  God  is  published  abroad  in 
the  earth,  there  are  these  signal  events 
made  known,  and  there  are  they  operat- 
ing to  impress  the  hearts  of  the  children 
of  men  with  an  awful  sense  of  the  great- 
ness of  God  and  the  danger  of  provok- 
ing him  to  jealousy. IT  Before  Mm. 

Heb.  i:;^pD  bekirbo,  in  the  midst  of 
him;  where  the  person  of  the  king 
stands  for  the  body  of  his  people  col- 
lectively. See  Note  on  Gen.  14. 10.  Gr. 
'That  yet  my  signs  may  come  ct'  av7ovs 
upon  them.''  Chal.  'That  I  might  set 
my  signs  in  the  midst  of  them  ;'  i.  e.  of 
Pharaoh  and  his  people.  Syr.  'That  I 
might  do  these  my  signs  among  them.' 
3.  How  long  wilt  thou  refuse  to  hum- 
hie  thyself  before  me  ?  Gr.  s'of  nvo?  ov 
:3uv\ci  eiTouTrivat  jie  ;  how  long  wilt  thou 
not  reverence  me  ?  This  is  the  grand 
controversy  of  God  with  sinners,  that 
they  refuse  at  his  bidding  to  humble 
themselves  in  penitent  prostration  be- 
fore him.  But  to  this  point  they  must 
come  at  last,  and  the  more  voluntarily 
it  is  done  the  better.  Pharaoh  had  in- 
deed on  former  occasions  made  some 
pretences  to  humbling  lnm?;elf,  but  as 
he  was  neither  sincere  nor  constant  in 
it,  it  passed  for  nothing  in  God's  esteem, 


122 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


4  Else,  if  thou  refuse  to  let  my 
people  2ro,  behold,  to-morrow  will 
I  briiiix  the  e  locusts  into  thy  coast : 

5  Aiul  they  shall  cover  the  lace  of 
the  earth,  that  one  cannot  be  able 
to  see  the  earth :  and  'they  shall  eat 
the  residue  of  that  which  is  escaped, 
which  remaineth  unto  you  from 
the  hail,  and  shall  eat  every  tree 

e  Prov.  30.  27.  Rom.  9.  3.  f  ch.  9.  32.  Joel. 
I.  4.  &  2.  25. 


and  he  i.s  here  addressed  as  if  it  were  a 
duty  which  he  had  never  yet  performed 
in  the  least  degree.  Let  us  learn  from 
this  how  little  value  God  puts  upon 
those  rehgious  acts  in  which  the  heart 
is  wanting. 

4,  5.  To-morrow  will  I  bring  the  lo- 
custs into  thy  coast.  Heb.  i<^:i'n  "TSil 
n-l5i  in?3  hinneni  mibi  mahar  arbeh, 
behold  me  bringing  to-morrow  the  lo- 
cust;  collect,  sing,  for  plur.  The  orig- 
inal word  for  locust  (n^l!^  arbeh)  is  de- 
rived from  Ta^^  rabah,  to  be  multiplied, 
or  increased.  It  carries,  therefore,  the 
import  of  prodigious  numbers,  Judg.  6. 
5,  Jer.  46".  23,  and  on  this  account  im- 
mense swarms  of  locusts  stand  in  the 
figurative  style  of  the  prophets  for  mul- 
titudinous  armies  of  men.  Thus  when 
the  fifth  angel  sounded  his  trumpet,  Rev. 
9.  3,  'There  came  out  of  the  smoke  of 
the  bottomless  pit  locusts  upon  earth,' 
denoting  the  countless  hordes  of  Sara- 
cens which  arose  in  the  commencement 
of  the  seventh  century  under  Moham- 
med, and  overran  and  depopulated  a 
great  portion  of  Christendom. — IT  They 
shall  cover  the  face  of  the  earth.  Heb. 
y"liin  p>'  r.i<  eth  ayln  haaretz,  the  eye 
of  the  earth.  The  phraseology  is  sin- 
gular, but  it  is  probably  by  metonymy 
of  the  faculty  for  the  object,  denoting 
tliat  the  sight,  the  visibility,  of  the  earth 
should  be  hidden  by  the  dense  masses 
and  layers  of  locusts.  A  phraseology  of 
perhaps  a  similar  import  occurs,  Zech. 
5  6,  in  the  description  of  the  symboli- 
cal ephah ;  'This  is  their  resemblance 


which  groweth  for  vou  out  of  the 
Held : 

G  And  they  g  shall  fill  thy  houses, 
and  the  houses  of  all  thy  servants, 
and  the  houses  of  all  the  Egyptians; 
which  neither  thy  fathers,  nor  thy 
fathers' fathers  have  seen,  since  the 
day  that  they  were  upon  the  earth 
unto  this  day.  And  he  turned  him- 
self, and  went  out  from  Pharaoh. 

gch.  8.  3,21. 


through  all  the  earth.'  Heb.  '  This  is 
their  eye  through  all  the  earth  ;'  i.  e. 
their  aspect,  their  visible  appearance. 
So  also  possibly  Zech.  3.  9,  'Upon  one 
stone  shall  be  seven  eyes ^^  i.  e.  a  seven- 
fold aspect ;  it  shall  have  the  property 
of  presenting  under  different  circum- 
stances seven  distinct  phases. — Swarms 
of  this  devouring  insect  had  often  be- 
fore been  the  scourge  of  Egypt,  but  he 
was  told  that  this  irruption  of  them 
should  be  beyond  all  former  precedent, 
and  that  their  numbers,  size,  and  vora- 
city should  be  such,  that  they  would 
eat  up  every  vegetable  production  in  the 
laud.  The  wheat  and  the  rye,  it  is  clear, 
had  escaped  the  ravages  of  the  hail,  ch. 
9.  3.2,  but  they  were  now  to  be  swept 
away  by  the  locust,  and  whatever  trees 
had  been  left  with  leaves  upon  their 
branches  were  now  to   be  stript  bare. 

IT    Which  neither  thy  fathers  nor 

thy  fathers^  fathers  have  seen;  i.e.  the 
like  of  which  for  numbers  and  ravages 
thy  fathers  have  never  seen  ;  not  that 
they  had  never  seen  locusts  at  all  be- 
fore. 

6.  He  turned  himself  and  went  out. 
Seeing  no  reason  to  anticipate  any  bet- 
ter reception  of  his  message  than  be- 
fore. Words  had  hitherto  passed  be- 
tween them  without  producing  the  de- 
sired results.  Moses  now  left  it  with 
God  to  deal  with  him  mainly  by  acts. 
It  is  a  fearful  point  which  the  sinner 
has  reached,  when  the  messenger  of  God 
thinks  it  of  very  little  consequence  what 
1  his  answer  may  be 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  X. 


7  And  Pharaoh's  servants  said 
unto  him,  How  hms:  shall  this  man 
be  1^  a  snare  unto  us  ?  Let  the  men 
go,  that  they  may  serve  the  Lord 
their  God :  knowest  thou  not  yet 
that  Egypt  is  destroyed  ? 

8  And  Moses  and'  Aaron  were 
brought  again  unto  Pharaoh:  and 
he  said  unto  them,  Go,  serve  the 

hch.  23.  33.  .losh.  23.  13.  1  Sam.  18.21. 
Eccles.  7.26.     1  Cor.  7.  35. 


7.  And  Pharaoh's  servants  said  unto 
him.  That  is,  the  principal  men  that 
were  about  him,  his  nobles  and  coun- 
sellors. After  the  loss  and  devastation 
which  the  preceding  plague  had  occa- 
sioned, they  ventured  to  remonstrate. 

IT   How  long  shall  this  man  be  a 

snare  unto  us  ?  How  long  shall  he 
prove  the  cause  of  leading  us  into  fresh 
calamities?  As,  however,  there  is  no 
separate  word  in  the  original  to  answer 
to  '  man,'  some  have  supposed  the 
meaning  to  be,  'how  long  shall  this 
thing,  this  affair,  be  a  snare  to  us?' 
And  with  this  the  Gr.  coincides,  cw?  nm? 

CTrai    TOVTo    rjn'iv  (Tko)\(>v,    hoW  long  shall 

this  scandal  be  to  us  ?  But  were  this  the 
true  sense,  the  original  would  doubtless 
be  ns^T  zoth  instead  of  DT  zeh,  which 
latter  is  the  proper  designation  of  a  per- 
son instead  of  a  thing.     Our  version  is 

correct. IT  Knowest  thou  not  yet  that 

Egypt  is  destroyed  ?  Hast  thou  not  yet 
evidence  enough  from  the  calamities 
experienced,  especially  by  the  ravages 
of  tlie  late  hail-storm,  that  the  whole 
country  is  just  upon  the  verge  of  de- 
struction ?  If  his  own  courtiers  and 
counsellors  were  of  this  opinion,  the 
king  could  not  but  infer  that  in  the 
course  he  was  now  pursuing,  he  was  no 
longer  sustained  by  the  general  consent 
of  the  Egyptian  people,  who  now  la- 
mented his  obstinacy,  and  had  become 
desirous  that,  as  the  least  of  many  evils, 
the  demand  of  the  Israelites  should  be 
complied  with.  This  consideration  was 
not  without  its  weight  with  the  king. 


Lord  your  God:  bid  who  are  thej 
that  shall  go? 

9  And  Moses  said,  We  will  go 
with  our, young  and  with  our  old, 
with  our  sons  and  with  our  daugh- 
ters, with  our  flocks  and  with  our 
herds  will  we  go :  for  i  we  tnust 
hold  a  feast  unto  the  Lord. 

10  And  he  said  unto  them,  Let 
the  Lord  be  so  with  you,  as  I  will 

ich.5.  1. 

Perceiving  the  feeling  that  was  enter- 
tained by  his  court  and  his  subjects,  he 
resolved  so  far  to  comply  with  their 
wishes  as  to  have  Moses  and  Aaron 
sent  for  and  brought  back,  that  he  might 
at  least  ostensibly  appear  disposed  to 

treat  with  them  anew. IT  But  who 

are  they  that  shall  go  ?  Heb.  i)3l  ^^2 
^^^'^'Hil  mi  va-mi  haholekijn,  who  and 
who  (are)  going?  The  repetition  of 
the  interrogative  is  emphatic,  implying 
that  he  w^as  to  specify  with  the  utmost 
distinctness  who  were  to  go,  and  who, 
if  any,  were  to  stay  behind.  Moses  in 
reply  tells  him  plainly  that  they  were 
to  serve  God  with  their  all ;  that  their 
wives  and  their  children,  their  flocks 
and  their  herds,  without  any  exception 
or  reservation,  must  go  with  them. 

10.  And  he  said  unto  them,  Let  the 
Lord,  &c.  This  bold  and  positive  de- 
claration of  Moses  was  too  much  for 
Pharaoh.  Greatly  exasperated  by  this 
uncompromising  statement  he  answers 
in  a  style  of  mingled  irony  and  wrath, 
'Let  the  Lord  do  with  you  as  I  will  let 
you  go  ;'  q.  d.  'If  this  be  the  proposed 
condition  of  your  going,  that  you  take 
your  little  ones  with  you,  then  may  the 
God  whom  you  serve  favor  you  as  much 
with  his  presence  as  I  do  with  my  con- 
sent, and  no  more.  In  this  case  your 
prospects  are  sorry  indeed.'  It  is  a  very 
strong  and  emphatic  mode  of  denying 
them  the  permission  which  they  sought. 

IT  Look  to  it,  for  evil  is  before  you. 

It  is  doubted  by  commentators  whether 
this  is  to  be  understood  as  a  threatening 


124 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  149J. 


let  you  go,  and  your  little  ones : 
look  to  it ;  for  evil  is  before  you. 

11  Not  so:  go  now  ye  that  are 
men,  and  serve  the  Lord  ;  for  that 
ye  did  desire.  And  they  were 
driven  out  from  Pharaoh's  pres- 
ence. 

12  H  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
ses, k  Stretch  out  thine  hand  over 
the  land  of  Egypt  for  the  locusts, 

kch.  7.  19. 


of  evil  to  happen  to  them,  or  as  an  ac- 
cusation of  evil  intended  by  them.  Pro- 
bably the  words  will  admit  the  union 
of  both  senses  ;  'You  are  harboring  an 
evil  design,  and  are  exposing  yourselves 
to  the  evil  of  a  corresponding  punish- 
ment.' Gr.  'See  that  mischief  is  pro- 
posed by  you.'  Vulg.  'Who  doubteth 
but  that  you  intend  very  wickedly?' 
dial.  'See  how  the  evil  which  you  were 
thinking  to  do  shall  return  to  your  own 
faces.' 

11.  Not  so.    I  do  not  consent  to  your 

going  on  these  conditions. IT  Go  now 

ye  that  are  men.  'Leave  your  women 
and  children  behind  as  a  pledge  for  your 
safe  return,  and  tlien  you  have  my  con- 
sent that  the  '  men,'  all  the  adults  of 
the  congregation,  should  go,  for  this  is 
the  fair  interpretation  of  your  request ; 
thus  only  did  I  understand  it  ;  thus  far 
only  will  I  comply  with  it.'  Yet  it  is 
difficult  to  say  what  authority  he  had 
for  such  an  assertion,  as  the  foregoing 
narrative  attributes  no  expression  to 
Moses  which  would  seem  fairly  capable 
of  such  a  construction.  It  is  possible 
he  intended  to  say,  that  that  must  have 
been  Moses''  meaning  when  he  asked 
permission  to  sacrifice  unto  Jehovah. 
But  he  had  no  right  to  attribute  a  sense 
to  Moses'  words  wliich  Moses  did  not 
design  to  convey,  and  then  act  as  if  it 

were   the   true   sense. IT    And   they 

were  driven  out  from  Pharaoh^s  pres- 
ence. Heb.  trn  "il"*i3^1  va-yegaresh 
otham,  and  one  drove  them  out ;  an  in- 
stance of  the  phraseology  in  which  a 


that  they  may  come  up  upon  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  i  eat  every  herb 
of  the  land,  even  all  that  the  hail 
hath  left. 

13  And  Moses  stretched  forth  his 
rod  over  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  the 
Lord  brought  an  east  wind  upon 
the  land  all  that  day,  and  all  that 
night :  and  when  it  was  morning, 
the  east  wind  brought  the  locusts. 

I  ver.  4.  5. 

verb  active  is  used  indefinitely  in  the 
third  person  singular  for  the  plural  pas- 
sive. See  Note  on  Gen.  16.  14.  'Among 
natives  of  rank,  when  a  person  is  very 
importunate  or  troublesome,  when  he 
presses  for  something  which  the  former 
are  not  willing  to  grant,  he  is  told  to 
begone.  Should  he  still  persist,  the 
servants  are  called,  and  the  order  is 
given,  'Drive  that  fellow  out.'  He  is 
then  seized  by  the  neck,  or  taken  by  the 
hands,  and  dragged  from  the  premises  ; 
he  all  the  time  screaming  and  bawling 
as  if  they  were  taking  his  life.  Thus 
to  be  driven  out  is  the  greatest  indignity 
which  can  be  offered,  and  nofliing  but 
the  most  violent  rage  will  induce  a  su- 
perior to  have  recourse  to  it.'     Roberts. 

12.  For  the  locusts,  that  they  may 
come  up.  Heb.  ^5>^1  HDIS^D  ba-arbeh 
va-yaal,for  the  locust,  that  he  may  come 
up  ;  collect,  sing. 

13.  The  Lord  brought  an  east  wind 
upon  the  land.  Heb.  3nD  nihag,  con- 
ducted. The  word  is  remarkable,  as  it 
has  the  import  of  guiding,  leading, 
directing  one's  course.  The  wind  may 
be  said  to  blow  where  it  listeth ;  but 
then  it  listeth  or  chooseth  only  as  God 
has  ordered  it.  At  his  command  it 
blows  one  day  to  bring  up  locusts,  and 
on  the  next  another  to  sweep  them  away. 
Though  locusts  are  common  in  Arabia, 
they  are  comparatively  rare  in  Egypt  ; 
the  Red  Sea  forming  a  sort  of  barrier 
against  them,  as  they  are  not  formed 
for  crossing  seas,  or  for  long  flights. 
Yet  on  the  present  occasion  they  were 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  X. 


125 


14  And   nuhe    locusts   went  up  j  ed  in  all  the  coasts  of  Egypt :  very 
overall  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  rest- 1  grievous  were  they  ;  "  before  thein 

n>  Ps.  78.  40.  &  105.  31.  n.loel2.  2. 


enabkd,  by  the  aid  of  a  '  strong  east 
wind,'  to  cross  that  sea  from  Arabia, 
which  was  another  remarkable  circum- 
stance, as  the  winds  which  prevalently 
blow  in  Egypt  are  six  months  from  the 
south,  and  six  months  from  the  north. 

IT  Brought  the  locusts.     Ileb.  itIL'D 

nasa,  bore  up,  supported,  sustained. 
Syr.  and  Vulg.  '  The  burning  rushing 
wind  raised  the  locusts.'  Considering 
what  Pharaoh  and  his  people  had  already 
sutfered  from  the  preceding  phigues, 
this  additional  one  must  have  been  be- 
yond measure  afflictive.  The  dearth  and 
desolation  were  now  complete.  Every 
leaf  and  blade  of  grass  left  from  the 
previous  ravages  of  the  hail,  were  now 
devoured.  It  is  difllcult  to  conceive  the 
devastating  eifects  that  follow  when  a 
cloud  of  hungry  locusts,  comes  upon  a 
country.  They  devour  to  the  very  root 
and  bark,  so  that  it  is  a  long  time  be- 
fore vegetation  can  be  renewed.  The 
account  which  M.  Volney  (Travels  in 
Syria,  vol.  I.  p.  18S)  gives  of  the  de- 
vastations of  these  insects,  contains  a 
striking  illustration  of  this  passage  : — 
'Tiieir  quantity  is  incredible  to  all  who 
have  not  themselves  witnessed  their  as- 
tonishing numbers  ;  the  whole  earth  is 
covered  wilh  them  for  the  space  of 
several  leagues.  The  noise  they  make 
in  browsing  on  the  trees  and  herbage 
may  be  heard  at  a  great  distance,  and 
resembles  that  of  an  army  plundering 
in  secret.  The  Tartars  themselves  are 
a  less  destructive  enemy  than  these  lit- 
tle animals.  One  would  imagine  that 
fire  had  followed  their  progress.  Wher- 
ever their  myriads  spread,  the  verdure 
of  the  country  disappears  ;  trees  and 
plants  stripped  of  their  leaves  and  re- 
duced to  their  naked  boughs  and  stems, 
cause  the  dreary  image  of  winter  to 
succeed  in  an  instant  to  the  rich  scenery 
of  spring.  When  these  clouds  of  lo- 
ll* 


custs  take  their  flight,  to  surmount  any 
obstacles,  or  to  traverse  more  rapidly  a 
desert  soil,  the  heavens  may  literally 
be  said  to  be  obscured  with  them.'  To 
this  may  be  added  the  narrative  of  a 
similar  visitation  in  the  Canary  Islands 
described  by  an  eye-witness,  about  two 
centuries  ago.  'The  air  was  so  full  of 
them,  that  I  could  not  eat  in  my  cham- 
ber without  a  candle  ;  all  the  houses 
being  full  of  them,  even  the  stables, 
barns,  chambers,  garrets,  and  cellars. 
I  caused  cannon-powder  and  sulj.hur  to 
be  burnt  to  expel  them,  but  all  to  no 
purpose  ;  for  when  the  door  was  opened 
an  intinile  number  came  in,  and  the 
others  went  out,  fluttering  about ;  and 
it  was  a  troublesome  thing  when  a  man 
went  abroad  to  be  hit  on  the  face  by 
those  creatures,  so  that  there  was  no 
opening  one's  mouth  but  some  would 
get  in.  Yet  all  this  was  nothing,  for 
when  we  were  to  eat,  these  creatures 
gave  us  no  respite  ;  and  when  we  cut  a 
bit  of  meat,  we  cut  a  locust  with  it ; 
and  when  a  man  opened  his  mouth  to 
put  in  a  morsel,  he  was  sure  to  chew 
one  of  them.  I  have  seen  them  at  night, 
when  they  sit  to  rest  them,  that  the 
roads  were  four  inches  thick  of  them, 
one  upon  another  ;  so  that  the  horses 
would  not  trample  over  them,  but  as 
they  were  put  on  with  much  lashing, 
pricking  up  their  ears,  snorting  and 
treading  fearfully.  The  wheels  of  our 
carts  and  the  feet  of  our  horses  bruising 
these  creatures,  there  came  forth  from 
them  such  a  stench  as  not  only  offended 
the  nose,  but  the  brain.  I  was  not  able 
to  endure  it,  but  was  forced  to  wash 
my  nose  with  vinegar,  and  hold  a  hand- 
kerchief dipped  in  it  continually  at  my 
nostrils.'  Gallaudct^s  Life  of  Moses, \o\. 
l.p.  114,  See  also 'Scrip.  Illust.' p.  .^51. 
14.  The  locusts  vent  up  over  all  the 
land.     From  the  following  passages  ia 


126 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


there  were  no  such  locusts  as  they, 
neitlior  after  them  shall  be  such. 

15  P'or  they  "covered  the  face  of 
the  Avhole  earth,  so  that  the  land 
was  darkened  ;  and  they  p  did  eat 
every  herb  of  the  land,  and  all  the 
fruit  of  the  trees  which  the  hail 
had  left :  and  there  remained  not 
any  green  thing  in  the  trees,  or  in 

Over.  5.     P  Ps.  105.  35. 

the  Psahns  some  liave  thought  that  the 
locusts  were  accompanied  by  countless 
swarms  of  caterpillars.  Ps.  78.  46,  'He 
gave  also  their  increase  unto  the  cater- 
pillar, and  their  labor  unto  the  locust.' 
Ps.  105.  34,  'He  spake,  and  the  locusts 
came,  and  the  caterpillars,  and  that 
■without  number.'  But  it  is  now  gener- 
ally admitted  that  the  original  terms 
merely  imply  different  species  of  lo- 
custs.  ^  Before  them  there  were,  &c. 

This  has  been  thought  to  be  inconsist- 
ent with  Joel,  2.  2,  when  in  speaking  of 
an  invading  army  of  locusts  the  prophet 
says,  '  A  great  people  and  a  strong  ; 
there  hath  not  been  ever  the  like,  nei- 
ther shall  be  any  more  after  it,  even  to 
the  years  of  many  generations.'  To 
this  Abarbancl,  the  Jewish  critic,  an- 
swers, that  Moses'  words  are  to  be  un- 
derstood of  the  country  of  Egypt  only  ; 
that  there  never  was  before  and  never 
was  to  be  again  such  a  plague  of  lo- 
custs there.  But  RosenmuUer  contends 
that  this  is  no  more  than  a  common 
hyperbolical  and  proverbial  mode  of 
speech,  which  is  not  to  be  pressed  to 
the  utmost  strictness  of  its  import.  He 
adduces  the  following  instances  of  par- 
allel usage.  2  Kings,  18.  .5,  'He  (Heze- 
kiah)  trusted  in  the  Lord  God  of  Israel ; 
so  that  after  him  was  none  like  him 
among  all  the  kings  of  Judah,  nor  any 
that  were  before  him.'  2  Kings,  23.  25, 
'And  like  unto  him  (Josiah)  was  there 
no  king  before  him,  that  turned  to  the 
Lord  with  all  his  heart,  and  with  all 
his  soul,  and  with  all  his  might,  ac- 
cording to  all  the  law  of  Moses  ;  nei- 


the  herbs  of  the  field,  through  all 
the  land  of  Egvpt. 

1 6  H  Then  Pharaoh  called  for  Mo- 
ses and  Aaron  in  haste ;  and  he 
said,  ql  have  sinned  against  the 
Lord  your  God,  and  against  you. 

17  Now  therefore  forgive,  I  pray 
thee,  my  sin  only  this  once,  and 
r  entreat  the  Lord  your  God  that 

qch.  9.  27.     rch.  9.  28.     1  Kings  13.  6. 


ther  after  him  arose  there  any  like 
him.'  Here  indeed  it  is  not  easy  to  see 
how  the  same  thing  could  consistently 
be  said  of  these  two  different  kings,  ex- 
cept on  the  ground  of  the  correctness  of 
Rosenmuller's  remark.  On  the  same 
principle  we  are  perhaps  to  interpret  the 
two  prophetical  declarations  of  Daniel 
and  our  Savior  ;  Dan.  12.  1,  'And  at  that 
time  shall  Michael  stand  up,  the  great 
prince  which  standeth  for  the  children 
of  thy  people  :  and  there  shall  be  a  time 
of  trouble,  such  as  never  was  since  there 
was  a  nation  even  to  that  same  time.' 
Mat.  24.21,  'For  there  shall  be  great 
tribulation,  such  as  was  not  since  the 
beginning  of  the  world  to  this  time,  no, 
nor  ever  shall  be.'  It  may  indeed  be 
affirmed  that  the  two  predictions  refer 
to  the  same  time,  which  is  indeed  pos- 
sible, though  not  certain. 

1.5,  Covered  the  face  of  the  xchoU 
earth.  Heb.  y^J^n  ^3  V-^  ayin  kol 
haaretz,  the  eye  of  the  whole  earth.  See 
Note  on  v.  5. IT  The  land  was  dark- 
ened. Ueh.y^iii  eretz,  the  same  word 
as  in  the  preceding  clause.  Either  the 
surface  of  the  ground  was  so  covered 
as  to  be  hidden  from  sight,  so  making 
the  phrase  exegetical  of  the  preceding  ; 
or,  which  is  preferable,  the  immense 
clouds  of  them  in  the  air  intercepted 
the  sun's  rays,  and  thus  darkened  the 
land.  Chal.  'They  covered  all  the  land 
so  that  the  sun-beams  could  not  pierce 
to  it,  and  the  kind  was  obscured.' 

16,  17.  Then  Pharaoh  called.  Heb. 
!i<'np^  ^tl72'^  yemaher  likro,  hastened  to 
call.     So  formidable  was  this  calamity 


B.  C.  U91.J 


CHAPTER  X. 


127 


he  may  take  away  from  me  this 
death  only. 

IS  And  he  sweat  out  from  Pha- 
raoh, and  entreated  the  Lord. 

J  9  And  the  Lord  turned  a  mighty 
strong  west  wmd  which  took  away 
the  locusts,  and  cast  them  tinto  the 

sfh.  8.  30.     t  Joel.  2.  20. 


that  although  Pharaoh  had  previously 
driven  Moses  and  Aaron  from  his  pres- 
ence, yet  he  is  now  constrained  to  send 
for  them  again,  to  avow  his  fault,  and 
to  beg  for  one  reprieve  more.  His  con- 
fession now  has  more  the  air  of  un- 
feigned repentance  than  on  any  former 
occasion.  He  acknowledges  that  he  had 
sinned  against  God  and  his  servants, 
hum])ly  asks  their  forgiveness,  and  sues 
for  their  intercession.  Only  let  him  be 
forgiven  this  once,  only  let  him  be  de- 
livered from  this  death,  and  there  should 
be  no  more  cause  for  complaint.  Alas! 
there  are  but  too  many  who  u])on  read- 
ing this  will  be  reminded  of  something 
similar  in  their  own  case  ;  too  many 
■who  will  recollect  in  the  hour  of  sick- 
ness and  in  the  fear  of  death,  to  have 
prayed  to  be  delivered  only  this  once, 
with  promises  of  amendment,  but  who 
yet  upon  recovery  have  returned,  Pha- 
raoh-like, to  their  former  impenitence, 
worldliness,  and  sin.  But  let  it  not  be 
forgotten  that  these  repeated  lapses  and 
broken  vows  are  all  the  while  swelling 
cur  guilt  to  fearful  dimensions,  and 
making  us  more  and  more  ripe  for  a 

sudden  destruction. H   This  death. 

Tiial  is,  this  deadly  plague.  Thus,  2 
Kings,  4.  40,  'And  they  cried  out  and 
said,  0  thou  man  of  God,  there  is  death 
in  the  pot  ;'  i.  e.  something  deadly. 
The  plague  of  the  locusts  was  in  itself 
d;:'ndly  in  the  sense  of  having  been  des- 
tntctive  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  Pha- 
raoh alluded  rather  to  its  apprehended 
consequences.  He  may  have  supposed, 
that  famine  and  pcstilnnce  causing  a 
g»^nerdl  mortality  would  follow  in  the 
train   of   the    ravages    of  the    locusts. 


Pted  sea :  there  remained  not  one 
locust  in  all  the  coasts  of  Egypt. 

20  But  the  Lord  u  hardened  Pha- 
raoh's heart,  so  that  he  would  not 
let  the  children  of  Israel  go. 

21  H  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
ses, X  Stretch  out  thine  hand  toward 

u  ch.4.21.  &  ll.tO.     xch.  0.  22. 


However  this  may  be,  he  deprecates 
the  plague  of  locusts  more  than  the 
plague  of  his  own  heart,  which  was 
much  more  deadly.  But  this  is  one  of 
the  thousand  cases  continually  occur- 
ring, where  men  are  more  anxious  to  be 
delivered  from  their  troubles  than  their 
sins,  and  cry  upon  their  beds  only  from 
acuteness  of  bodily  pain  or  fear  of  hell. 
They  shrink  and  writhe  under  the  con- 
sequences of  their  transgressions,  but 
they  do  not  hate  and  repent  of  the 
transgressions  themselves. 

19.  The  Lord  turned  a  mighty  strong 
uest  wind.  Heb.  "l^r^'O  pfH  tl"i  ni"l 
ruah  yam  hazak  meod,  a  sea-wind  strong 
exceedingly.  The  Hebrews  denominat- 
ed thf  West  from  the  Mediterranean 
sea,  which  lay  to  the  west  of  Palestine. 

ir  Cast  titem.    Heb.  inS^pn'i  yith- 

ka'ihu,  fastened  them  ^  i.  e.  they  were 
so  cast  or  driven  into  the  sea,  that  as  to 
the  event,  it  was  as  if  they  had  been 
'fastened,'  like  a  tent  which  is  pitched 
and  fast  nailed  to  the  ground.  This 
complete  removal  of  the  locusts  was  as 

miraculous  as  the  bringing  tliem  on. 

IT  Into  the  Red  Sea.  Heb.  qiD  tS"^  yam 
svph,  Sea  of  Svph,  or  weedy  sea,  sea  of 
rvshes,  from  the  great  quantities  of  sea- 
Aveeds  and  flags  which  abound  ui)on  its 
shores.  It  is  called  'Red  Sea'  from  its 
bordering  upon  the  country  of  Edom, 
which,  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  signifies 
'  red.' 

21.  Even  darkness  which  may  be  felt. 
Heb.  Tl'n  U:>Q"'1  va-yamesh  hoshek,  that 
one  may  feel  darkness  ;  the  same  word 
in  the  original  with  that  used  to  express 
the  'darkness'  which  covered  the  deep 
at  the  time  of  the  six  days'  creation. 


128 


EXODQS. 


[B.  C.  1491, 


heaven,  that  there  may  be  dark- 
ness over  the  land  of  Egypt,  even 
darkness  winch  may  be  felt. 

22  And  Moses  stretched  forth  his 
hand  toward  heaven:    and   there 


It  was  a  darkness  consisting  of  thick, 
claminj'  fogs,  of  vapors  and  exhalations 
so  condensed  that  they  might  almost 
be  perceived  by  the  organs  of  touch. 
Some  commentators,  supposing  that  hu- 
man life  could  not  be  sustained  an  hour 
in  such  a  medium,  imagine  that  instead 
of 'darkness  that  may  be  felt,'  the  Ileb. 
phrase  may  signify  a  darkness  in  which 
men  went  gro])ing  and  feeling  about  for 
every  thing  they  wanted.  But  some- 
thing of  a  hyperbolical  character  may 
be  allowed  for  expressions  of  this  kind, 
which  are  not  to  be  pared  to  the  quick. 
Considering  that  the  sun  was  one  of  the 
deities  of  Egypt,  and  that  in  that  coun- 
try any  darkening  of  his  hght  in  the 
day  time  is  an  extremely  rare  occur- 
rence, we  may  imagine  the  consterna- 
tion that  would  sieze  upon  the  inhabit- 
ants at  such  a  phenomenon.  The  cloud 
of  locusts  which  had  previously  dark- 
ened the  land  were  nothing  compared 
with  this.  It  was  truly  'an  horror  of 
thick  darkness.' 

22.  There  was  a  thick  darkness.  Heb. 
nini<  Tl.'n  hoshek  aphe'lah,  darkness  of 
obscurity  or  gloom  ;  i.e.  a  darkness  of 
preternatural  density.  The  expression 
in  tlie  origmal  is  peculiarly  emphatic, 
and  is,  tlierefore,  rendered  m  the  Gr. 
by  three  words,  'darkness,  thick  black- 
ness, and  tempestuous  gloom.'  The 
description  which  the  author  of  the 
Book  of  Wisdom,  chap.  17.  2,  3,  21, 
gives  of  their  inward  terrors  and  con- 
sternation may  not  be  altogether  con- 
jectural :  'They  were  not  only  prisoners 
of  darkness  and  fettered  with  the  bonds 
of  a  long  night,  but  were  horribly  as- 
tonished likewise  and  troubled  with 
strange  ajiparitions.'  Compare  with  Mo- 
ses' account  of  the  ninth  plague,  the  woe 
of  the  fifth  apocalyptic  vial,  Pvev.  16. 


was  a  y  thick  darkness  in  all  the 
land  of  Egypt  three  days : 

23  They  saw  not   one   another, 
neither  rose  any  from  his  place  for 


y  P.S.  105.  28. 


10,  'And  the  fifth  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  seat  of  the  beast,  and  his 
kingdom  was  full  of  darkness  ;  and  they 
gnawed  their  tongues  for  anguish.' 

23.  Neither  rose  any  from  his  place. 
Heb.  Tirinn?3  mittahtav,  from  that 
which  was  under  him.  Gr.  ik  rrn  Konrn 
avTiiv,from  his  bed.  The  meaning  prob- 
ably is,  that  no  one  went  out  of  his 
house  to  attend  to  his  usual  business. 
It  is  probable  too  that  tliey  were  pre- 
vented by  the  heavy  and  humid  state  of 
the  atmosphere  from  availing  them- 
selves of  any  kind  of  artificial  light. 
So  Wisdom,  chap.  17.  5,  '  No  power  of 
fire  might  give  light.'  We  can  scarcely 
conceive  a  more  distressing  situation  ; 
)'et  as  Pharaoh  and  his  people  had  re- 
belled against  the  light  of  God's  word, 
conveyed  to  them  by  Moses,  it  was  a 
righteous  thing  with  God  thus  to  punish 
them  with  a  sensible  pre-intimation  of 
that  '  blackness  of  darkness'  which  en- 
ters into  the  m.isery  of  the  damned. 

IF  The  children  of  Israel  had  light  in 
their  dwellings.  Again  God  put  a  mark- 
ed difference  between  his  enemies  and 
his  people.  Well  is  it  said  of  this 
miracle  in  the  apocryphal  book  above 
quoted,ch.  17.  20,21,  'The  whole  world 
shined  with  clear  light,  and  none  were 
hindered  in  their  labor  ;  over  them  only 
(the  Egyptians)  was  spread  a  heavy 
night,  an  image  of  that  darkness  which 
should  afterwards  receive  them :  but 
yet  were  they  unto  themselves  more 
grievous  than  the  darkness  ."  In  allu- 
sion, perhaps,  to  the  gracious  discrimi- 
nation here  spoken  of  we  fmd  the  prom- 
ise,  Is.  60.  1,2,  'Arise,  shine;  for  thy 
light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
is  risen  upon  thee.  For  behold,  dark 
ness  shall  cover  the  earth  and  gross 
darkness  the  people,  but  the  Lord  shall 


B.  C.  1191, 


CHAPTER  X. 


12. 


three  days :  ^but  all  the  children  of 
Israel  had  light  in  their  dwellings. 

24  T[  And  rharaoh  called  unlo 
Moses,  and  a  said,  Go  ye,  serve  the 
Lord  :  only  let  your  Hocks  and  your 
herds  be  stayed:  let  your  Ij little 
ones  also  go  with  you. 

25  And  Moses  said.  Thou  must 
give  us  also  sacrifices,  and  burnt- 

zch.  8.  22.    aver.  8.    »>  ver.  10. 


arise  upon  thee,  and  his  glory  shall  be 
seen  upon  thee.'  Yet  a  greater  differ- 
ence will  hereafter  be  made  between 
the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  between 
those  that  fear  God,  and  those  that  fear 
him  not.  While  the  light  of  his  coun- 
tenance and  the  glory  of  his  heaven 
shall  exhilarate  and  rejoice  the  former, 
in  that  state  which  needs  not  sun  or 
moon  to  enlighten  it,  the  wicked  shall 
endure  the  total  loss  of  day,  and  dwell 
darkling  in  perpetual  night.  There  is 
even  now  an  earnest  of  the  final  diver- 
sity of  lot.  The  darkness  of  ignorance 
and  sin  enshrouds  the  one,  and  the  night 
of  nature  clouds  all  their  perceptions  ; 
while  the  bright  shining  of  the  sun  of 
righteousness  sheds  its  kindly  and  re- 
freshing beams  upon  the  other. 

24.  And  Pharaoh  called  unto  Moses. 
That  is,  after  the  lapse  of  three  days 

of  darlcness. IT  Go  ye,  serve  the  Lord, 

only  let  the  flocks,  &c.  The  visitation 
of  the  darkness,  so  well  calculated  to 
appal  and  terrify  the  Egyptians,  com- 
pelled the  king  to  relax  his  previous 
determination.  Still  he  is  bent  on  a 
compromise.  He  will  now  permit  the 
children  also  to  go,  but  the  flocks  and 
the  herds  must  be  stayed  behind  as  a 
security  for  their  return.  Thus  it  is 
that  sinners  are  disposed  to  make  terms 
with  the  Almighty,  instead  of  yielding 
cheerfully  to  all  his  demands.  They 
will  consent,  under  the  pressure  of  judg- 
ments, to  part  with  some  of  their  sins, 
but  not  all.  They  would  rather  retain 
them  all,  if  they  could  do  it  consistent- 
ly with  their  hope  of  heaven.     If  they 


ollerings,  that  we  may  sacrifice  un- 
to the  Lord  our  God. 

20  (Jur  cattle  also  shall  go  with 
us;  there  shall  not  an  hoof  be  left 
beliind;  for  thereof  must  we  take 
to  serve  the  Lord  our  God;  and  we 
know  not  with  what  we  must  serve 
the  Lord,  until  we  come  thither. 

27  H  But    the   Lord   c  hardened 

c  ver.20.  ch.  4.21.  &  14.4,8. 

do  part  with  any,  it  is  with  the  utmost 
reluctance,  like  the  mariner  who  casts 
his  goods  overboard  to  lighten  his  ship 
and  keep  it  from  sinking.  But  while 
Pharaoli  would  plead  for  some  abate- 
ment, and  shrinks  from  obeying  the 
Lord  wholly,  Moses,  instead  of  reced- 
ing an  iota  from  his  previous  demand, 
grows  bolder  as  the  crisis  approaches, 
and  declares  that  not  only  shall  the 
children  go,  but  also  that  there  shall 
not  an  '  hoof  be  left  behind.' 

25.  Thou  must  give  us  also  sacrifices. 
Heb.  IDT^D  yikl  tittcn  be-yadenu,  shalt 
give  in,  or  into,  our  hands.  It  is  not 
probably  to  be  understood  from  this  that 
Moses  demanded  that  animals  for  sacri- 
fice should  be  given  to  them  from  the 
flocks  and  herds  of  the  Egyptians,  but 
that  he  should  freely  allow  them  to  take 
their  oivn  ;  that  he  should  throw  no 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  their  taking  their 
stock  of  cattle  with  them.  To  give 
into  their  hands,  therefore,  is  equiva- 
lent to  leaving  in  their  power  and  at 
their  disposal.  This  is  evident  from  the 
drift  of  the  next  verse. 

26.  Not  an  hoof  be  left  behind.  The 
exact  and  punctilious  obedience  of  Mo- 
ses to  every  item  of  the  divine  com- 
mandment is  here  displayed,  as  an  ex- 
ample from  following  which  we  sliould 
be  deterred  by  no  persecution  or  tyran- 
ny of  men.  The  'not  leaving  an  hoof 
behind'  intimated  their  full  and  com- 
plete egress  from  Egyptian  bondage, 
leaving  nothing  to  tempt  them  to  re- 
turn. 

27.  He  would  not  let  them  go.    Heo. 


130 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


Pharaoh's  heart,  and  he  would  not 
let  them  go. 

28  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  him, 
Get  thee  from  me,  take  heed  to 
thyself,  see  my  face  no  more:  for 
in  thai  day  thou  seest  my  face, 
thou  shalt  die. 

29  And  Moses  said,  Thou  hast 

ri-i<  no  lo  abah,  was  not  willing,  was 
not  persuaded,  did  not  consent,  to  let 
them  go.  This  word,  strongly  indica- 
tive of  the  wilfulness  of  the  king,  oc- 
curs here  for  the  first  time  in  the  whole 
narrative. 

28.  Get  thee  from  me,  &c.  '  Has  a 
servant,  an  agent,  or  an  officer,  deeply 
offended  his  superior,  he  will  say  to 
him,  'Take  care  never  to  see  my  face 
again  ;  for  on  the  day  you  do  that,  evil 
shall  come  upon  you.'  '  Begone,  and 
in  future  never  look  in  this /ace,'  point- 
ing to  his  own.'  Roberts.  The  firmness 
of  Moses  exasperated  Pharaoh  beyond 
measure.  He  here  shows  himself  fran- 
tic with  disappointment  and  rage.  He 
not  only  dismisses  the  unwelcome  mes- 
senger with  indignation,  from  his  court, 
but  forbids,  upon  pain  of  death,  the  be- 
holding his  face  again.  A  desperate 
madness  and  an  impotent  malice  are 
alike  conspicuous  in  this  angry  order. 
Had  he  not  had  abundant  evidence  that 
Moses  could  plague  him  without  seeing 
his  face  ?  Had  he  not  had  time  to  dis- 
cover that  an  almighty  power  was  work- 
ing with  Moses,  and  that  it  was  idle  to 
threaten  him  witli  death,  who  was  the 
special  charge  of  Omnipotence  ?  But 
to  what  length  of  daring  impiety  will 
not  a  hardened  heart  bring  the  presump- 
tuous rebel ! 

29.  /  will  see  thy  face  again  no  more. 
It  is  a  sad  farewell  when  God,  in  the 
persons  of  his  servants,  refuses  any  more 
to  see  the  face  of"  the  wicked  ;  esjiecial- 
ly  if  in  so  doing  he  yields  to  their  de- 
sires. For  the  manner  in  which  this  is 
to  be  reconciled  with  tlie  subsequent 
history,  see  Note  on  Ex.  11.  1 — 3.  | 


j  spoken  well,  <l  I  will  see  thy  face 
again  no  more. 

CHAPTER  XL 

AND  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Yet  will  I  bring  one  plague 
/7io7'e  upon  Pharaoh,  and  upon 
Egypt ;  afterwards  he  will  let  you 

dHebr.  11.27. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

1.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses. 
Rather  perhaps,  'The  Lord  had  said 
unto  Moses.'  From  v.  8,  it  appears  that 
Moses,  after  announcing  the  eighth 
plague,  went  out  from  Pharaoh  in  great 
anger,  and  yet  previously  in  ch.  10.  29, 
he  is  represented  as  saying  to  Pharaoh, 
'I  will  see  thy  face  again  no  more.'  It 
is  consequently  to  be  inferred  that  the 
present  judgment  was  denounced  to  the 
king  before  the  close  of  the  last-men- 
tioned interview,  and  the  information 
respecting  it  communicated  to  Moses 
some  time  previous  to  that  interview. 
The  true  construction  undoubtedly  is  to 
consider  the  first  three  verses  of  this 
chapter  as  a  mere  parenthesis,  and  to 
connect  ch.  11.4,  with  ch.  10.29,  as  a 
continuation  of  the  same  train  of  nar- 
rative. Otherwise  there  is  very  great 
confusion  in  the  incidents  detailed. 
The  connexion  between  this  and  the 
last  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter  is 
undoubtedly  very  close,  how^ever  loose 
at  first  sight  it  may  appear.  Moses  does 
in  effect  in  these  words  slate  the  ground 
of  the  confident  and  peremptory  tone 
which  he  assumed  in  his  reply  to  Pha- 
raoh. They  give  us  to  understand  that 
it  was  not  of  his  own  motion  that  he 
then  intimated  that  that  should  be  their 
last  interview;  for  we  cannot  suppose 
that  it  was  optional  with  Moses  whether 
to  continue  or  to  break  off  the  negocia- 
tions  with  Pharaoh.  Unless  divinely 
instructed  to  the  contrary,  how  did  he 
know  but  that  God  would  have  him  car- 
ry another  message  to  the  king  in  de- 
spite of  his  lordly  interdict  ?  From  this 
passage  we  learn  that  he  was  thus  in- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XL 


131 


go  hence  :  a  when  he  shall  let  you 
go,  he  shall  surely  thrust  you  out 
hence  altogether. 
2  Speak  now  in  the  ears  of  the 

ach.  12.  31,  33,39. 


fetiucted,— that  God  had  informed  him 
that  the  contest  with  Pharaoh  was  just 
about  to  close, — that  with  one  plague 
more  he  would  complete  the  deliver- 
ance of  Israel. IT  Yet  will  I  bring 

one  plague  more  upon  Pharaoh.  Fear- 
ful and  wonderful  had  been  the  plagues 
which  the  Lord  had  already  brought  up- 
on Egypt,  but  before  Moses  retires  from 
the  royal  presence  he  has  one  more,  and 
but  one,  judgment  to  denounce  to  the 
incorrigible  king.  It  was  of  portentous 
import,  and  might  well  make  the  ears 
of  the  haughty  rebel  to  tingle.  The  sol- 
emn manner  in  which  it  is  announced 
to  Moses  reminds  us  that  whatever  aw- 
ful succession  of  plagues  we  may  have 
thus  far  endured,  God  may  still  have 
one  in  reserve  which  shall  do  more 
execution  than  all  the  preceding. 

2.  Speak  now  in  the  ears  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  let  every  man  borrow,  &c.  Heb. 
ibi^w'^  yishalu,  ask,  demand.  On  the 
import  of  the  term  see  Note  on  Ex.  3. 
22.  We  are  by  no  means  satisfied  that 
Moses  was  required  to  command  the 
people  to  practise  the  device  here  men- 
tioned. We  regard  it  rather,  as  far  as 
they  were  concerned,  as  the  mere  pre- 
diction of  a  fact  which  should  occur. 
Moses,  we  conceive,  was  here  directed 
as  a  private  individual,  and  probably  in 
a  covert  manner  (whence  the  Gr.  has, 
'  speak  therefore  privily  in  the  ears ;' 
i.  e.  in  a  private,  not  in  a  public,  capa- 
city), to  start  the  suggestion  among 
the  people  that  the  present  was  a  favor- 
able opportunity  to  obtain  some  meas- 
ure-of  that  remuneration  for  years  of 
unrequited  service  to  which  they  were 
justly  entitled.  The  grounds  of  this 
proceeding  are  given  in  the  ensuing 
verse,  which  is  to  be  taken  in  immedi- 
ate connect. on  with  what  goes  before. 


people,  and  let  every  man  borrow 
of  his  neighbour,  and  every  woman 
of  her  neighbour,  t.  jewels  of  silver, 
and  jewels  of  gold. 

bch.3.22.  &12.  35. 

as  a  statement  of  the  reason  which  ex- 
isted to  give  countenance  and  secure 
success  to  the  measure  proposed.  Both 
Moses  and  the  people  were  now  in  high 
estimation  with  the  Egyptians,  from  its 
having  been  so  clearly  evinced  that  they 
were  the  special  objects  of  a  divine  in- 
terposition, and  accounting  this  as  a 
providential  intimation  they  were  led  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  favorable  im- 
pressions of  their  enemies  to  obtain  a 
partial  redress  for  their  wrongs.  As  to 
the  true  import  of  the  original  word  for 
'borrow,'  it  is,  as  before  remarked,  ch. 
3.  22,  that  of  asking,  demanding,  soli- 
citing,  without  expressly  implying  a 
promise  of  restoration,  although  it  can- 
not be  denied  that  there  are  cases  where 
it  legitimately  imports  the  act  of  bor- 
roicing,  as  Ex.  22. 14,  2  Kings  6.  5.  But 
in  the  present  instance  it  is  obvious  that 
the  Egyptians  were  as  voluntary  and  as 
forward  in  giving  as  the  Israelites  were 
in  receiving,  there  being  no  bribe  which 
they  were  not  willing  to  offer  in  order 
to  free  themselves  from  the  presence  of 
men  whom  they  regarded  as  the  cause 
of  their  calamities,  and  the  natural 
etTect  of  the  terrible  inflictions  which 
they  had  just  sustained,  would  be,  for 
the  time,  to  render  the  precious  things 
which  the  Hebrews  required  of  small 
value  in  their  sight.  When  we  con- 
sider for  how  long  a  period  the  Israel- 
ites had  been  impoverished  that  the 
Egyptians  might  be  enriched,  and  that 
now  being  about  to  quit  the  land  of  their 
sojourning  with  only  so  much  of  their 
eflfepts  as  they  could  '  bind  up  in  their 
clothes  upon  their  shoulders,'  all  the 
property  which  they  left  behind  would 
naturally  fall  into  the  hands  of  their 
oppressors,  we  cannot  deem  it  incon- 
sistent with  the  divine  perfections  that 


132 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491 


3  c  And  the  Lord  gave  the  people 
favour  in  the  si^^ht  of  the  Egyptians. 
Moreover,  the  man  ^  Moses  waji 
very  great  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  in 
the  sight  of  Pharaoh's  servants, 
and  in  the  sight  of  the  people. 

4  And  Moses  said,  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,    e  About   midnight    w^ill    I 

<•  ch.  3.  21.  &  12. 36.  Ps.  lOfi.  46.  i  2  Sam.  7.  9. 
Esther  9.  4.  e  ch.  12.  12,  23,  29.    Amos  5.  17. 


thi.s  mode  of  possessing  themselves  of 
their  dues  should  be  suggested  to  an  in- 
jured people.  They  took  no  more  than 
they  received,  they  received  no  more 
than  they  demanded,  and  they  demand- 
ed no  more  than  that  to  which  they 
were  justly  entitled.  Josephus  says, 
'They  also  honored  the  Hebrews  with 
gifts,  some  in  order  to  get  them  to  de- 
part quickl}',  and  others  on  account  of 
tlieir  neighborhood  and  the  friendship 
they  had  with  them.'  It  is  evident  from 
oil.  12.  35,  36,  that  this  account  of  the 
borrowing  of  the  jewels  is  inserted  here 
by  anticipation,  as  the  fact  did  not  oc- 
cur till  some  time  afterward.  This 
confirms  still  farther  the  idea  above 
siiggested  that  these  verses  are  paren- 
thetical. 

3.  The  Lord  gave  the  people  favor, 
&c.  The  influence  which  should  pro- 
duce the  effect  here  described  was  too 
signal  and  marvellous  not  to  be  ascribed 
directly  to  a  divine  source.  The  Psalm- 
ist informs  us  Ps.  105. 25,  that  the  hearts 
of  the  Egyptians  were  turned  to  hate  the 
chosen  people,  and  here  v/e  find  the  se- 
cret agency  of  heaven  controlling  the 
sj)irits  of  his  enemies,  and  prompting 
them  to  bestow  favors  where  they  might 
rather  be  expected  to  vent  malice.  But 
God  very  often  mollifies  the  hearts 
which  he  does  not  sanctify,  and  realizes 
to  his  afilicted  people  what  is  said,  Ps. 
106. 4G,  'lie  made  them  also  to  be  pitied 
of  all  them  that  carried  them  cajjtive.' 
By  the  same  working  of  his  overruling 
providence  he  made  Moses  also  '  great' 
in  the  esteem  of  the  people  of  Egypt,  and 


go  out  into  the  midst  of  Egypt : 
5  And  ''all  tlie  first-born  in  the 
land  of  Egypt  shall  die,  from  the 
hrst-born  of  Pharaoh  that  sitteth 
upon  his  throne,  even  unto  the  hrst- 
born  of  the  maid-servant  that  is 
behind  the  mill ;  and  all  the  first- 
born of  beasts. 

fch.  12.  12,  29.     Amos  4.  10. 


thus  rendered  the  reverence  and  awe 
which  his  miracles  had  inspired  tribu- 
tary to  the  enriching  his  people.  The 
'  servants'  and  the  '  people'  here  spoken 
of  are  undoubtedly  both  to  be  under- 
stood of  the  Egyptians. 

4.  And  Moses  said.  That  is,  to  Pha- 
raoh, in  continuation  of  ch.  10.  29,  be- 
fore  he   left   the   royal   presence. 

IT  About  midnight  wilt' I  go  out,  &c. 
Heb.  Js^jTI"'  '^^it  ani  yotze,  I  going  out  ; 
the  present  future  participle.  Chal.  'I 
will  be  revealed  in  the  midst  of  Egypt.' 
Arab.  'I  will  make  my  Angel  to  walk 
through  the  country  of  Egypt.'  God 
was  now  to  go  forth,  as  he  is  elsewhere 
said  to  come  down,  in  the  execution  of 
his  judgments.  The  language  represents 
God  himself  as  the  immediate  author  of 
the  tremendous  calamity  about  to  be  in- 
flicted. Hitherto  he  had  plagued  Egypt 
by  means  and  instruments :  '  Stretch  out 
thine  hand  ;'  '  Say  unto  Aaron,  Stretch 
forth  thine  hand  with  thy  rod.'  But 
now  it  is,  'I  will  go  out  into  the  midst 
of  Egypt.'  As  mercies  coming  imme- 
diately from  the  hand  of  our  heavenly 
Father  are  sweeter  and  better  than  those 
that  are  communicated  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  creature  ;  so  the  judgments 
issuing  directly  from  the  stores  of  the 
divine  wrath,  are  more  terrible  and 
overwhelming  than  those  which  come 
through  any  created  agency. 

5.  All  the  first-horn  in  the  land  of 
Egypt  shall  die.  It  is  scarcely  possible 
to  conceive  a  donunciation  fraught  with 
elements  of  more  terror  than  this.  HaJ 
the  whole  Egyptian  nation  been  doomed 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XL 


133 


to  utter  extinction,  it  would  indeed  have 
been  a  judgment  of  greater  magnitude, 
and  have  produced  a  deeper  impression 
upon  those  that  should  have  beheld  it ; 
but  then  one  part  of  the  people  would 
not  have  survived  to  experience  the  an- 
guish  of  being  so  fearfully  separated 
from  the  other.  As  it  was,  it  was  to  be 
attended  with  the  most  heart-rending 
aggravations.  It  was  to  be  a  blow  which 
should  wound  there  wlicrc  the  heart  is 
most  suscejjtible.  The  pride,  the  hope, 
the  joy  of  every  family  was  to  be  taken 
from  them.  The  bitterness  of  fathers 
and  mothers  for  their  first-born  is  pro- 
verbial. Here  were  Egyptian  parents 
soon  to  be  found  weeping  for  their 
children  'because  they  were  not.'  It 
was  to  be  a  woe  without  alleviation 
and  without  remedy.  He  that  is  sick 
may  be  restored.  A  body  emaciated  or 
ulcerated,  maimed  or  enfeebled,  may 
again  recover  soundness  and  strength. 
But  what  kindly  process  can  reanimate 
the  breathless  clay,  and  give  back  to 
the  arms  of  mourning  affection  an  only 
son,  a  first-born,  stricken  with  death  ! 
Hope,  the  last  refuge  and  remedy  under 
other  evils,  was  here  to  be  cut  up  by 
the  roots.  Again,  the  blow  was  to  be 
struck  at  midnight,  when  none  could 
see  the  hand  that  inflicted  it,  and  most 
were  reposing  in  quiet  sleep.  Had  this 
sleep  been  silently  and  insensibly  ex- 
changed for  the  sleep  of  death,  the  cir- 
cumstances would  have  been  less  over- 
whelmingly awful.  But  it  was  not  to 
be  so.  Although  for  three  days  and 
nights  previously  they  had  been  envel- 
oped in  thick  darkness,  and  none  had 
risen  up  from  their  places,  yet  now  they 
were  to  be  aroused  from  their  beds  to 
render  what  fruitless  aid  they  could  to 
their  expiring  cliildren,  and  to  mourn 
over  their  slain.  What  consternation 
and  woe  could  be  equal  to  this  ?  To 
06  prematurely  awakened  out  of  sleep 
by  the  dying  groans  of  a  near  relative 
suddenly  smitten  ;  to  be  presented  with 
the  ghastly  image  of  death  in  a  darling 
Vol   I  12 


object  lately  seen  and  enjoyed  in  per- 
fect health  ;  to  be  forced  to  the  acknow- 
ledgment of  the  great  and  holy  Lord 
God  by  such  a  fearful  demonstration  of 
his  presence  and  power  !  But  this  was 
not  all.  The  universality  of  the  woe  was 
to  be  such  as  greatly  to  enhance  its  hor- 
rors. From  every  house  the  cry  of  misery 
was  to  burst  forth.  The  mighty  leveller 
was  to  invade  all  ranks  and  conditions. 
The  jjrince  and  the  peasant,  the  master 
and  the  slave,  were  alike  to  confess  the 
destructiveness  of  his  march.  And  then 
to  crown  the  whole  was  the  keen  reflec- 
tion, that  all  this  accumulated  distress 
might  have  been  prevented.  How  would 
they  now  condemn  their  desperate  mad- 
ness in  provoking  a  power  which  had 
so  often  and  so  forcibly  warned  them  of 
their  danger  ?  If  Pharaoh  were  not  past 
feeling,  how  dreadful  must  have  been 
the  pangs  which  he  felt  in  the  thought 
that  after  attempting  to  destroy,  by 
unheard  of  cruelties,  an  innocent  and 
helpless  race  of  strangers,  he  had  now 
ruined  his  own  country  by  his  obsti- 
nate perseverance  in  impiety  and  folly? 
With  what  anguish  must  he  have  beheld 
his  own  hopes  blasted  in  their  dearest 
object,  the  heir  of  his  throne  and  em- 
pire, because  he  regarded  not  the  claims 
of  humanity  in  the  treatment  of  his 
vassals  ?  But  see  the  judgment  more 
fully  considered  in  the  Note  on  Ex.  12. 
29. TT  From  the  first-born  of  Pha- 
raoh that  sitteth  vpon  his  throne.  That 
is,  the  first-born  whose  right  it  would 
have  been  to  sit  upon  the  throne  of  the 
kingdom  as  a  successor  to  his  father. 
Modern  interpreters  for  the  most  part 
refer  the  expression  '  that  sitteth  upon 
his  throne'  to  Pharaoh,  but  the  Targums 
of  Onkelos  and  Jonathan  understand  it 
of  the  heir  apparent — qui  sessurus  est 
super  thronum  regni  ejus,  who  is  to  sit 

vpon  the  throne  of  his  kingdom. 

IT  The  maid-servant  that  is  behind  the 
mill.  'Most  families,'  says  Shaw  (Tra- 
vels, p.  231)  speaking  of  the  Moors  in 
Barbary,  'grind  their  wheat  and  barley 


134 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


6  g  And  there  shall  be  a  "Tcat  cry 
throughout  all  the  land  of  Efjypt, 
such  as  there  was  none  like  it,  nor 
shall  be  like  it  any  more. 

7  I'But  aijainst  any  of  the  children 
of  Israel  >  shall  not  a  dog  move  his 
tongue,  against  man  or  beast :  that 
ye  may  know  how  that  the  Lord 

B  ch.  12.  30.  Amos  5.  17.  h  ch.  8.  22.  •  Josh. 
10.  21. 


at  home,  having  two  portable  millstones 
for  that  purpose  ;  the  uppermost  of 
which  is  turned  round  by  a  small  han- 
dle of  wood  or  iron  that  is  placed  in  the 
rim.  When  this  stone  is  large,  or  ex- 
pedition IS  required,  then  a  second  per- 
son is  called  in  to  assist ;  and  as  it  is 
usual  for  the  women  alone  to  be  con- 
cerned in  this  employment,  who  seat 
themselves  over  against  each  other  with 
the  millstones  between  them,  we  may 
see  not  only  the  propriety  of  the  ex- 
pression, Ex.  11.  5,  of  '  sitting  beliind 
the  mill,'  but  the  force  of  another,  Mat. 
24.  40,  that  'two  women  shall  be  grind- 
ing at  the  mill,  the  one  shall  be  taken, 
and  the  other  left.'  Sir  John  Chardin 
also  remarks,  that  '  they  are  female 
slaves  who  are  generally  employed  in 
the  East  at  these  hand-mills  ;  that  this 
work  is  extremely  laborious,  and  es- 
teemed the  lowest  emploj'ment  in  the 
house.'  Thus,  we  find  a  translation 
from  the  highest  honor  to  the  lowest 
degradation  described  in  the  following 
terms.  Is.  47.  1,2,  'Come  dowTi  and  sit 
in  the  dust  0  virgin,  dai^hter  of  Baby- 
lon, sit  on  the  ground— ^oAc  the  mill- 
stones and  grind  meal.' 

G.  And  there  shall  be  a  great  cry.  A 
cry  of  lamentation  and  mourning,  and 
anguisli,  a  loud  and  universal  wailing, 
such  as  never  was  and  never  should  be 
paralleled  in  that  land.  The  latter 
clause  of  the  verse  is  probably  to  be  in- 
terpreted on  the  same  principle  with 
thru  of  ch.  10.  14. 

7.  Shall  not  a  dog  move  his  tongue. 
A  proverbial  expression  for  the  most 


doth  put  a  difference  between  the 
Egyptians  and  Israel. 

8  And  i^all  these  thy  servants 
shall  come  down  unto  me,  and  bow 
down  themselves  unto  me,  saying, 
Get  thee  out,  and  all  the  people 
that  follow  thee  ;  and  after  that  I 
will  go  out.  And  he  went  out 
from  Pharaoh  in  a  great  anger. 

k  ch.  12.  33. 


profound  tranquillity,  implying  that 
nothing  should  occur  to  harm  or  affright 
them ;  they  should  abide  in  peace  and 

safety. ^  Doth  put  a   difference. 

Heb.  n^S'^  yapleh,  wonderfully  distin- 
guisheth.     See  Note  on  Ex.  S.  22. 

8.  Shall  come  down  unto  me,  and  bow 
down  themselves  unto  me,  saying,  &c. 
oNIoses  has  thus  recited  the  words  of 
God's  message  to  Pharaoh,  but  here  he 
begins  to  speak  in  his  own  person,  an- 
nouncing the  speedy  submission  of  Pha- 
raoh's servants  to  him,  and  their  hum- 
ble  and  earnest  request  that  he  should 
'  depart  out  of  their  coasts.'  At  the 
same  time,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that 
Moses  says  this  in  his  representative 
character,  and  that  it  is  to  the  Most 
High  in  Moses  that  this  submission  was 
to  be  made.  It  is  indeed  wonderful  to 
see  God  thus  identifying  himself  with 
a  creature  of  clay  who  speaks  in  his 
name,  and  yet  it  is  unquestionable  that 
the  Scriptures  afford  repeated  instances 

of  the  same  usage  of  speech. IT  All 

the  people  that  follow  thee.  Heb.  Ti23!!^ 
'I'^b^^i  a.9/jfr  beraglika,  ivho  are  at 
thy  feet.  An  expressive  phrase,  of  which 
see  the  import  explained  in  the  Notes 
on  Gen.  49.  10,  and  Judg.  4.  10.  Gr. 
'Whom  thou  leadest.'  Chal.  'Who  are 
with  thee.'  Vulg.  'Who  are  subject  to 
thee.'  Aben  Ezra,  '  Who  are  in  thy 
power.'  Jarchi, '  Who  follow  thy  coun- 
sel and  thy  steps.' IT  ll'ent  out  from 

Pharaoh  in  a  great  anger.  Heb.  T^H!! 
J?i<  bohori  aph,  in  a  heat  of  anger.  His 
indignation  was  justly  moved  at  the 
repeated  falsehoods  of  the  king,  at  his 


B.  C.  ]  491.1 


CHAPTER  XI. 


135 


9  And  tlie  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
1  Pharaoh  shall  not  hearken  unto 
you  ;  that  '"  my  wonders  may  be 
multiplied  in  the  land  of  Ki^ypt. 

10  And  Moses  and  Aaron  did  all 

ich.  3.  I'J.  &?.  4.  &  10.  1.    mch.  7.  3. 


mercenary  and  cruel  disposition,  and  at 
the  insolent  manner  in  which  he  had 
himself  been  treated  by  him.  But  it 
■was  mainly  in  view  of  the  indignity 
put  upon  the  messages  of  God  that  his 
spirit  was  stirred.  He  saw  in  him  a 
proud,  obstinate,  audacious  opposer  of 
the  God  of  heaven,  one  who  had  resisted 
warnings  and  convictions,  judgments 
and  mercies  ;  one  who  would  not  yield 
to  the  divine  authority  to  save  all  the 
first-born  of  his  kingdom,  and  who  was 
now  rushing  headlong  to  his  ruin.  No 
wonder  that  he  was  provoked  with  a 
holy  indignation  at  his  enormous  sin, 
and  angered,  as  our  Savior  himself 
afterwards  was,  'at  the  hardness  of  his 
heart.'  But  it  was  a  being  angry  and 
sinning  not.  'To  be  angry  at  nothing 
but  sin,  is  the  way  not  to  sin  in  anger.' 
Henry. 

9,  10.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
ses, &c.  Rather,  'Tlie  Lord  had  said.' 
These  two  concluding  verses  appear  to 
be  designed  as  a  kind  of  general  re- 
capitulation of  the  main  incidents  of  the 
preceding  narrative,  of  which  the  scope 
is  to  inform  the  reader  that  every  thing 
took  place  just  as  God  had  predicted. 
In  obedience  to  the  divine  command 
Moses  and  Aaron  had  performed  all 
their  wonders  before  the  king  and  his 
court,  and  yet  according  to  the  previous 
intimation,  Pharaoh  had  turned  a  deaf 
ear,  and  presented  an  obdurate  heart,  to 
all  these  exhibitions  and  appeals,  most 
stubbornly  refusing  to  let  the  people  go 
from  under  his  yoke.  It  was  proper  to 
make  lliis  statement  to  preclude  any 
lurking  impression  that  such  an  amazing 
demonstration  of  divine  power  had  been 
put  forth  in  vain,  or  that  Omnipotence 
had  been  baffled  in  the  contest.  Far  from  , 


these  wonders  before  Pharaoh ; 
"  and  the  Lord  hardened  Pharaoh's 
heart,  so  that  he  would  not  let  the 
children  of  Israel  go  out  of  his 
land. 

nch.  10.  20,27.     Rom.  2.5.  &  9.  22. 


it.  Every  thing  had  resulted  just  as  God 
had  foretold.  The  incredulity  and  obsti- 
nacy of  men  is  sometimes  made  known 
beforehand,  that  it  may  not  be  a  sur- 
prise or  a  stumbling-block  when  it  hap- 
pens. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

We  have  in  the  present  chapter  an 
account  of  the  execution  of  the  fearful 
judgment  threatened  in  the  preceding, 
and  in  that  event  of  the  removal  of  the 
last  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  exit  of 
the  Israelites  from  Egypt.  The  slaugh- 
ter of  the  first-born  ended  for  the  present 
the  controversy  with  Pharaoh,  though 
his  subsequent  infatuation  brought  the 
final  stroke  of  justice  upon  him  in  his 
overthrow  in  the  Red  Sea.  Previously 
however  to  detailing  the  incidents  of 
this  awful  providence,  the  historian 
pauses  to  give  us  an  account  of  the  in- 
stitution of  the  Passover,  which  God 
himself  ordained,  not  only  as  a  present 
means  of  safety  to  his  own  people  while 
the  judgment  went  through  the  land, 
but  also  as  a  permanent  memorial  of 
the  event  of  their  deliverance.  As  such 
the  ordinance  is  perhaps  the  most  re- 
markable of  all  the  festivals  of  the  Jew- 
ish church,  and  that  which  is  more  fre- 
quently mentioned  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment than  any  other.  It  consisted  of 
three  parts  ;  (1)  The  killing  and  eating 
of  the  paschal  lamb.  (2)  The  sprink- 
ling of  the  blood  upon  the  door-posts, 
spoken  of  as  a  distinct  thing,  Heb.  II. 
28,  and  peculiar  to  the  first  passnver. 
(3)  The  feast  of  unleavened  bread  for 
seven  days  following.  The  details  will 
come  before  us  as  we  proceed,  to  which 
will  be  appended  suitable  moral  reflec- 
tions at  the  close. 


136 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A  ND  the  Lord  spake  unto  Mo- 
-^  ses  and  Aaron  in  the  land  of 
E^ypt,  saying, 

2  a  This  muntli  s/iall  be  unto  you 
tlie  beginning  of  months:    it  shall 

ach.  13.4.    Deut.  16.  1. 

1.  And  the  Lord  spake,  kc.  Better 
rendered  'the  Lord  had  spoken,'  for  this 
order  was  given  anterior  to  Moses'  last 
interview  witli  Pharaoh,  and  probably 
prior  to  the  three  days'  darkness,  as  is 
inferrible  from  the  fact  of  the  paschal 
lamb  being  required  to  be  made  ready 
the  fourth  day  before  it  was  killed.  We 
suppose,  therefore,  that  the  above  direc- 
tion was  given  to  Moses  on  the  ninth  or 
tenth  day  of  the  month  when  the  Pass- 
over was  immediately  provided  ;  then 
followed  the  three  daj^s'  darkness ;  on 
the  thirteenth  Moses  appeared  for  the 
last  time  bci'ore  Pharaoh ;  and  on  the 
fourteenth  the  Passover  was  eaten. 

2.  This  month  shall  he  unto  you  the  be- 
ginning of  jnonths.  Heb.  t3"'"knn  "(Tit^ 
rosh  hodoshinii  the  head  of  months  ^  not 
only  first  in  order,  but  highest  in  estima- 
tion ;  the  chief  and  most  excellent  month 
of  the  year.  This  month  had  former- 
ly been  reckoned  the  seventh,  but  was 
henceforth  to  stand  the  first  of  the  eccle- 
siastical year,  while  the  civil  year  re- 
mained unaltered,  commencing  in  Tisri 
or  September.  Thus  Josephus  :  'Moses 
appointed  that  Nisan  should  be  the  first 
month ;  so  that  this  month  began  the 
year,  as  to  all  the  solemnities  they  ob- 
served in  honor  of  God,  although  they 
preserved  the  original  order  of  the 
months  as  to  buying  and  selling,  and 
other  ordinary  atfairs.'  This  year  had 
formerly  begun  from  tlie  middle  of  Sep- 
tember; it  was  henceforward  to  begin 
from  the  middle  of  March,  This  alter- 
ation of  style  was  the  special  appoint- 
ment of  God,  whose  prerogative  Anti- 
clirist  usurps  when  he  '  thinks  to  diange 
times  and  laws.' 


be  the  first  month  of  the  year  to 
you. 

'  3  H  Speak  ye  unto  all  the  congre- 
gation of  Israel,  saying,  In  the  tenth 
daij  of  this  month  they  shall  take 
to  them  every  man  a  lamb  accord- 
ing to  the  house  of  their  fathers,  a 
lamb  for  an  house : 


3.  Speak  ye  unto  all  the  congregation 
of  Israel.  Upon  retiring  from  Pharaoh's 
presence  Moses  had  undoubtedly  with- 
drawn to  the  land  of  Goshen  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  departure  of  his 
people,  which  he  now  saw^  to  be  close 
at  hand.  They  had  probably  been  ga- 
thering thither  by  degrees,  and  uncon- 
sciously perhaps  forming  themselves  in- 
to an  immense  caravan,  ready  to  move 
at  an  hour's  warning.  It  is  consequent- 
ly to  the  'congregation,'  the  assembled 
mass  of  Israel,  that  the  order  is  here 
given,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  judgments  recently  exercised  upon 
the  Egyptians,  with  the  manner  in  which 
their  own  affairs  had  been  conducted, 
had  for  the  present  made  the  Israelites 
very  tractable,  and  disposed  them  to  re- 
ceive and  follow  the  directions  of  Moses 
with  the  utmost  deference  and  respect. 
The  order  for  observing  a  religious  or- 
dinance in  such  circumstances  as  the 
Israelites  were  now  in,  in  the  midst  of 
the  hurry  and  bustle  of  their  prepara- 
tions for  departure,  teaches  us  that  what- 
ever the  urgency  of  the  business  or  cares 
that  occupy  us,  still  the  claims  of  reli- 
gion are  paramount,  and  that  nothing 
should  crowd  out  the  duties  of  worship 

and  devotion  from  our  minds. IT  Take 

to  them  every  man  a  lamb.  Heb.  niO 
seh,  which  implies  either  a  lamb  or  a 
kid,  as  appears  from  v.  5. IT  Accord- 
ing to  the  house  of  their  fathers.  The 
whole  host  of  Israel  was  divided  into 
twelve  tribes  J  these  tribes  into  fami- 
lies; and  the  families  into  houses  ;  the 
last  being  composed  of  particular  indi- 
viduals. In  one  family,  therefore,  there 
miffht  be  several  houses. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


137 


4  And  if  the  household  be  too 
little  lor  the  lamb,  let  him  and  his 
neighbour  next  unto  his  house  take 
it  according  to  the  number  of  the 
souls :  every  man  according  to  his 
eating  shall  make  your  count  for 
the  lamb. 

5  Your  lamb  shall  be  ^  without 

b  Lev.  22.  19,  20.  21.  Mai.  1.  8, 14.  Ilebr. 
9.14.     1  Pet.  1.19. 


blemish,  a  male  of  the  first  year  : 
ye  shall  take  it  out  from  the  sheep 
or  from  the  goats : 
6  And  ye  shall  keep  it  up  until 
the  c  fourteenth  day  of  the  same 
month:  and  the  whole  assembly 
of  the  congregation  of  Israel  shall 
kill  it  in  the  evening. 

c  Lev.  23.  5.     Numb.  9.  3.  <fc  2S.  16.     Deut. 
16.  1,  6. 


4.  According  to  the  number  of  the 
souls.  As  to  the  requisite  number  ne- 
cessary to  constitute  what  was  termed 
the  'paschal  society,'  which  Moses  does 
not  specify,  some  light  is  gathered  from 
the  following  passage  of  Josephus:  (J. 
W.  B.  6.  ch.9.  §  3.)  'These  high-priests 
did  so  upon  the  coming  of  that  feast 
which  is  called  the  Passover,  when  they 
slay  their  sacrifices,  from  the  ninth  hour 
till  the  eleventh  ;  hut  so  that  a  company 
of  not  less  than  ten  belonged  to  every 
sacrifice  :  (for  it  is  not  lawful  for  them 
to  feast  singly  by  themselves ;)  and 
many  of  us  are  twenty  in  a  company.^ 
IT  Every  man  according  to  his  eat- 
ing. Heb.  n^Si^  ^t)i  •::^i^  ish  lephi 
oklo,  every  man  according  to  the  moxith 
of  his  eating.  That  is,  in  making  out  a 
suitable  number  to  participate  of  the 
lamb,  or  form  the  paschal  society,  ye 
shall  include  every  one  who  is  capable 
of  eating  a  certain  quantity,  to  the  ex- 
ception of  the  sick,  the  very  aged,  and 
the  very  young.  This  quantity  the  Jew- 
ish writers  say  was  to  be  equal  to  the 
size  of  an  ohve. 

5.  Without  blemish.  Heb.  tl'i^OD  ta- 
mim,  perfect-  i.  e.  entire,  whole, sound, 
having  neither  defect  nor  redundancy  of 
parts,  unsoundness  of  members,  or  de- 
formity of  aspect.  See  this  more  fully 
explained,  Lev.  22.  21—24.  This  has  a 
typical  reference  to  Christ,  who  is  call- 
ed, 1  Pet.  1. 19,  'A  Lamb  v,ithout  blem- 
ish and  without  spot.' ^  A  male  of 

the  first  year.  Heb.  mj'U  "p  ben  sha- 
nah,  son  of  a  year.  A  male,  as  being 
accounted  more  excellent  than  a  female, 


Mai.  1.  14;  and  of  the  first  year,  be- 
cause it  retains  during  that  jjcriod  its 
lamb-like  harmlessness  and  simplicity. 
The  phrase  implies  rather  a  lamb  that 
falls  somewhat  short  of  a  full  year, 
than  one  that  has  reached  it.  It  w-as 
probably  taken  at  the  age  when  its  flesh 
Avas  most  tender  and  grateful. 

6.  Ye  shall  keep  it  up.  Heb.  rT^m 
ri^^)^!!'!^^  Ql^b  ve-hayah  lakcm  lemish- 
mereth,  it  shall  be  to  you  for  a  keeping, 
or  reservation.  It  was  to  be  singled  out 
from  the  rest  of  the  flock  on  the  tenth 
day  of  the  month,  and  kept  apart  till  the 

fourteenth,  when  it  was  to  be  slain. 

IT  The  whole  assembly  of  the  congrega- 
tion shall  kill  it.  Not  that  the  whole  as- 
sembly of  the  congregation  were  to  kill 
one  lamb,  but  each  house  their  several 
lambs.  As  this  however  was  to  be  done 
throughout  the  whole  congregation,  at 
the  same  time,  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  single 
act,  and  the  collective  singular  for  the 

plural  employed. IT  Shall  kill  it  in  the 

evening.  Heb.  fi'^n^^n  ^^  ben  ha-ar- 
bayim,  between  the  two  evenings.  That 
is,  in  the  afternoon  between  the  time  of 
the  sun's  beginning  to  decline,  which 
w^as  called  the  first  evening,  and  that 
of  his  setting,  which  Avas  termed  the 
second.  The  usual  time  doubtless  was 
the  middle  point  between  noon  and  sun- 
set, or  about  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. Thus  Josephus,  speaking  of  the 
Passover:  'They  slay  their  sacrifices 
from  the  ninth  hour  (three  o'clock)  to 
the  eleventh,  (five  o'clock.)'  Thus  al- 
so the  Talmud:  'They  slew  the  daily 
(evening)  sacrifice  at  the  eighth  hour 


138 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


7  And  they  shall  take  of  the 
blood,  and  strike  it  on  the  tAVo  side- 
posts,  and  on  the  upper  door-post  of 
the  houses,  wherein  they  shall  eat  it. 

8  And  they  shall  eat  the  flesh  in 

and  a-half,  (or  half  past  two,)  and  of- 
fered It  up  at  the  ninth  hour  and  a-half, 
(or  half  past  three.)  But  on  the  eve  of 
the  Passover  they  slew  it  at  the  seventh 
hour  and  a  half,  (or  half  past  one,)  and 
offered  it  up  at  the  eighth  hour  and  a 
half,  (or  half  past  two.)'  And  Maimo- 
nides  informs  us  that  the  paschal  lamb 
was  slain  and  olfcrcd  up  immediately 
after  the  usual  time  of  killing  and  offer- 
ing up  the  evening  sacrifice.  In  like 
manner  our  blessed  Lord,  who  is  the 
'  true  Passover  slain  for  us,'  was  con- 
demned soon  after  the  sixth  hour,  John, 
19.  14;  i.e.  after  our  twelve  at  noon, 
and  he  died  soon  after  the  ninth  hour. 
Mat.  27.  46.  50 ;  i.  e.  after  our  three  in 
the  afternoon. 

7.  Strike  it  on  the  two  side-posts. 
Which  was  done  by  means  of  the  hys- 
sop-branch. This  was  to  be  done  as  a 
mark  of  safety,  a  token  of  deliverance, 
that  the  destroying  angel,  when  passing 
through  the  laud  to  slay  the  first-born 
of  the  Egyptians,  might  see  and  pass 
over  the  houses  of  the  Israelites,  and 
spare  their  families.  They  were  sin- 
ners as  well  as  the  Egyptians,  and  God 
might  justly  have  punished  them  for 
their  sins  by  taking  away  the  lives  of 
their  first-born.  But  he  was  pleased  to 
show  them  mercy,  and  accept  the  life 
of  a  lamb  as  a  substitute.  Its  blood 
was  the  signal  of  this,  and  all  who 
obeyed  the  command  of  God  and  relied 
on  his  protection,  were  secure  from  the 
stroke  of  the  avenger.  Nothing  could 
be  a  more  significant  and  striking  em- 
,  blem  of  the  application  of  Christ's  blood 
to  the  guilty  conscience  as  the  sole 
means  of  deliverance  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  In  him  we  have  redemption 
through  his  blood.  His  is  the  true 
'blood  of  sjjriukling,  which  speaketh 


that  night,  roast  Avith  fire,  and 
d unleavened  bread;  and  with,  bit- 
ter herbs  they  shall  eat  it. 


dch.  34.  25. 
1  Cor.  5.  8. 


Deut.  16.   3.     Numb. 


11. 


better  things  than  the  blood  of  Abel.' 
It  is  better  than  the  blood  of  the  Pass- 
over-lamb, for  it  effects  for  us  a  far 
greater  deliverance  than  that  of  the  Is- 
raelites ;  it  redeems  us  from  the  bond- 
age of  Satan  and  sin,  from  the  fear  of 
death  and  hell. IT  On  the  upper  door- 
post of  the  houses.  Heb.  tjlp'l^^zn  ^5 
al  hammashkoph;  i.  e.  the  lintel,  or  that 
part  of  the  door-frame  which  lies  across 
the  door-posts  over  head.  The  Hebrew 
word  in  its  radical  signification  denotes 
looking,  and  may  here  imply  a  part 
of  the  door-frame  which  was  peculiar- 
ly prominent  and  conspicuous,  which 
would  naturally  he  looked  at.  Others, 
however,  suppose,  with  perhaps  more 
plausibility,  that  the  term  carries  the 
import  o{ looking  through,  and  implies 
that  the  Egyptian  houses  had  lattices 
or  windows  over  their  doors,  through 
which  it  was  customary  for  the  inmates 
to  look  upon  hearing  a  knock.  It  was 
not  to  be  sprinkled  upon  the  threshold, 
perhaps  out  of  regard  to  its  typical  im- 
port, to  intimate  that  the  blood  of  Christ 
is  not  to  be  trodden  under  fool,  or  count- 
ed by  any  as  an  unholy  thing. 

8.  Roast  with  fire.  Because  it  could 
sooner  be  made  ready  by  roasting  than 
by  boiling.  This  circumstance  consti- 
tuted a  marked  difference  between  the 
Passover-lamb  and  all  the  other  peace- 
offerings,  the  flesh  of  which  was  usually 
boiled,  in  order  to  be  eaten  both  by  the 
people  and  the  priests,  as  something  ad- 
ditional even  at  the  paschal  solemnity. 
Wherefore  in  2  Chron.  35.  13,  the  two 
kinds  of  offerings  are  accurately  dis- 
tinguished: 'And  they  roasted  the  pass- 
over  with  fire  according  to  the  ordi- 
nance :  but  the  other  holy  offerings  sod 
they  in  pots,  and  in  caldrons,  and  in 
pans.'    Whether  any  more  satisfactory 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


139 


9  Eat  not  of  it  raw,  nor  sodden 
at  all  with  Avater,  but  e  roast  with 

e  Ueut.  16.7. 


moral  reason  can  be  assigned  for  this 
order,  than  that  the  extremity  of  our 
Savior's  sufferings  from  the  fire  of  God's 
wrath  might  be  thereby  afTectingly  de- 
picted, we  pretend  not  to  say. IF  JVitk 

unleavened  bread.  This  also  was  ordered 
for  the  sake  of  expedition,  Deut.  16.  3, 
as  both  Abraham  and  Lot,  in  preparing 
a  hastj"^  meal  for  tlieir  visiters,  caused 
unleavened  cakes  to  be  made.  The 
original  term  is  supposed  to  be  derived 
from  a  word  signifying  to  press,  squeeze, 
or  compress,  and  is  a})plied  to  bread  des- 
titute of  the  fermenting  matter,  because 
it  has  its  parts  closely  compressed  to- 
gether, and  becomes  Avhat  we  common- 
ly call  heavy.  So,  on  the  other  hand, 
our  English  word  '  leaven,'  is  formed 
from  the  French  '  levain,'  which  is  de- 
rived from  the  verb  '  lever,'  to  raise  up, 
the  effect  produced  upon  dough  by  leaven 
rendering  the  bread  lis;ht  and  spongy. 
The  use  of  unleavened  bread  as  a  per- 
petual observance  in  the  paschal  cele- 
bration may  have  been  designed  to  re- 
mind the  cliosen  people  of  their  leaving 
Egypt  in  such  haste  as  to  be  obliged  to 
carry  their  unleavened  dough  with  them. 
It  is  also  not  unreasonably  to  be  infer- 
red from  one  or  two  passages  in  the 
New  Testament,  that  a  mystical  mean- 
ing was  couched  under  this  circum- 
stance. Leaven  is  a.  species  of  corrup- 
tion, caused  by  fermentation,  and  tend- 
ing to  putrefaction.  For  this  reason  it 
is  said  of  our  Savior,  Luke,  12.  1,  'He 
began  to  say  imto  his  disciples  first  of 
all.  Beware  ye  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pha- 
risees, which  is  hypocrisy.'  Paul  also 
in  1  Cor.  5.  7,  8,  says,  'Purge  out  there- 
fore the  old  leaven  ;  for  Christ  our  pass- 
over  is  sacrificed  for  us  ;  therefore  let 
us  keep  the  feast,  not  with  the  old  leav- 
en,  neither  with  the  Zmi-en  of  malice  and 
wickedness ;  but  with  the  unleavened 
bread  of  sincerity  and  truth.' IT  With 


fire ;  his  head  with  his  legs,  and 
with  the  purtenance  thereof. 


hitter  herbs.  Hob.  'C"'"11?3  merorim, 
bitters,  or  bitternesses.  Tliat  is,  with 
bitter  things,  bitter  ingredients  ;  allud- 
ing doubtless  to  herbs,  such  as  succory 
or  icild  lettuce,  as  it  is  rendered  in  the 
Vulgate,  although  some  commentators 
have  imagined  that  not  herbs,  but  a  bit- 
ter or  sour  sauce,  like  that  mentioned  by 
the  Evangelist  in  which  Jesus  dipped  the 
sop  which  he  gave  to  Judas,  John,  1 3. 26y 
is  meant.  But  this  is  less  likely,  as  the 
Talmudists  enumerate  the  different  spe- 
cies of  herbs  allowed  to  be  eaten  with 
the  paschal  lamb,  among  which  were 
the  lettuce,  the  endive,  the  horehound, 
&c.  In  modern  times,  in  England  and 
some  other  northern  countries,  we  are 
told  that  horse-radish  is  used.  The  Is- 
raelites were  probably  commanded  to 
eat  these  bitter  herbs  on  this  occasion 
in  remembrance  of  their  afflictions  in 
Egypt,  where  their  lives  had  been  made 
bitter. 

9.  Eat  not  of  it  raw.  That  is,  half- 
roasted,  or  superficially  done,  having 
some  of  the  blood  remaining  in  it. 
With  the  express  prohibition.  Gen.  9.  4, 
against  eating  blood  before  them,  they 
scarcely  needed  to  be  warned  against 
eating  flesh  absolutely  raw.  But  in  the 
hurry  with  which  the  first  passover  was 
observed,  and  with  so  great  a  number 
of  paschal  lambs,  it  might  easily  hap- 
pen that  some  of  them  would  be  but  im- 
perfectly done,  unless  specially  admon- 
ished on  that  score. IT  Nor  sodden 

at  all  with  u-ater.  Not  boiled  at  all. 
Sodden  is  the  past  participle  of  seethe, 
to  boil.  Should  it  be  deemed  super- 
fluous to  say  '  sodden,  or  boiled,  u-ith 
water,''  there  being  no  other  way  sup- 
posable  in  which  the  flesh  of  animals 
would  be  boiled,  it  may  be  observed  in 
reply,  that  the  Heb.  word  V^'^  bashal 
is  applied  both  to  roasting  and  boiling, 
and  Moses,  in  order  to  take  away  the 


MO 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


10  f  And  yc  shall  let  nothing  of 
it  remain  until  the  morning :  and 
that  which  remaineth  of  it  until 
the  morning  ye  shall  burn  with 
fire. 

fch.23.  1S.&  34.25. 

ambiguity,  adds  the  specification  '  with 
water  j'  as  also  in  naming  its  opposite 
in  the  next  clause,  he  says,  '  roast  with 

fire. IT  With  the  purtenance  thereof. 

Heb.  IDIp  ^2)  al  kirbo,  with  his  midst, 
or  inwards ;  meaning  that  the  lamb 
was  to  be  roasted  whole  and  entire. 
Neither  the  head  nor  the  legs  were  to 
be  separated,  nor  the  intestines  remov- 
ed. It  may  be  supposed  however  that 
these  last  simply  included  the  heart, 
lungs,  liver,  kidneys,  &c.  and  not  the 
intestinal  canal. 

I.  Ye  shall  let  nothing  of  it  remain. 
Lest  it  should  be  appropriated  to  a  su- 
perstitious use,  and  also  to  prevent  pu- 
trefaction ;  for  it  was  not  meet  that  a 
thing  offered  to  God  should  be  subjected 
to  corruption,  which  in  such  hot  coun- 
tries it  must  speedily  undergo.  Thus 
the  body  of  our  Lord  '  saw  no  corrup- 
tion,' Ps.  16.  10,  Acts,  2.  17,  audit  was 
his  body  which  was  prefigured  by  the 
paschal  lamb. 

II.  With  your  loins  girded.  'That 
is,  as  persons  prepared  for  a  journey. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  East  usually 
wear  long  and  loose  dresses,  which, 
however  convenient  m  postures  of  ease 
and  repose,  would  form  a  serious  ob- 
struction in  walking  or  in  any  laborious 
exertion,  were  not  some  expedients  re- 
sorted to,  such  as  those  which  we  find 
noticed  in  Scripture.  Thus  the  Persians 
and  Turks,  when  journeying  on  horse- 
back tuck  their  skirls  into  a  large  pair 
of  trousers,  as  the  poorer  sort  also  do 
when  travelling  on  foot.  But  the  usage 
of  the  Arabs,  who  do  not  generally  use 
trousers,  is  more  analogous  to  tlic  prac- 
tice described  in  the  Bible  by  'girding 
up  the  loins.'  It  consists  in  drawing 
up  the  skirts  of  the  vest  and  fastening 


11  IF  And  thus  ye  shall  cat  it ;  uith 
your  loins  girded,  your  shoes  on 
your  feet,  and  your  staff  in  your 
hand :  and  ye  shall  eat  it  in  haste ; 
B  it  is  the  Lord's  passover. 

ffDeut.  16.  5. 


them  to  the  girdle,  so  as  to  leave  the 
I  leg  and  knee  unembarrassed  when  in 
'  motion.  An  Arab's  dress  consists  gen- 
erally of  a  coarse  shirt  and  a  woollen 
mantle.  The  shirt,  which  is  very  wide 
and  loose,  is  compressed  about  the  waist 
by  a  strong  girdle  generally  of  leather, 
the  cloak  being  worn  loose  on  ordinary 
occasions.  But  in  journeying  or  other 
exertion,  the  cloak  also  is  usually  con- 
fined by  a  girdle  to  Avhich  the  skirts  are 
drawn  up  and  fastened.  When  manual 
exertion  is  required,  the  long  hanging 
sleeves  of  the  skirt  are  also  disposed  of 
by  the  ends  of  both  being  tied  together 
and  thrown  over  the  neck,  the  sleeves 
themselves  being  at  the  same  time  tuck- 
ed high  up  the  arm.'    Pict.  Bib. 

IT  Shoes  on  your  feet.  '  This  was  an- 
other circumstance  of  preparation  for  a 
journey.  At  the  present  time  Orientals 
do  not,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
eat  with  their  shoes  or  sandals  on  their 
feet,  nor  indeed  do  they  wear  them  in- 
doors at  all.  This  arises  not  only  from 
the  ceremonial  politeness  connected 
with  the  act  of  sitting  unshod  ;  but  from 
the  fear  of  soiling  the  fine  carpets  with 
which  their  rooms  are  covered.  Be- 
sides, as  they  sit  on  the  ground  cross- 
legged,  or  on  their  heels,  shoes  or  san- 
dals on  their  feet  would  be  inconveni- 
ent. To  eat  therefore  with  sandalled 
or  shod  feet  is  as  decided  a  mark  of 
preparation  for  a  journey  as  could  well 
be  indicated.  But  perhaps  a  still  bet- 
ter illustration  is  derived  from  the  fact, 
that  the  ancient  Eg}q3tians,  like  the 
modern  Arabs,  did  not  ordinarily  weai 
either  shoes  or  sandals.  In  their  sculp- 
tures and  paintings  very  few  figures  oc- 
cur with  sandalled  feet ;  and  as  we  may 
presume,  that  in  the  course  of  215  years 


B.  C.  1 191.J 


CHAPTER  Xri. 


141 


12  For  I  h  will  pass  through  the  of  Egypt,  both  man  and  beast:  and 

land  of  Egypt  this  nioflit,  and  will  'against  all  thegodsofEgyptlwill 

smite  all  tlie  first-born  in  the  land  execute  judgment:  J^  I  am  the  Lord. 

hch.  11.4,  5.     Amos  5.  17.  iNumb.  33.  4.     k  ch.  6,  2. 


the  Israelites  had  adopted  this  and 
other  customs  ofthe  Egyptians,  we  may 
understand  that  (except  by  the  priests) 
sandals  were  only  used  during  journeys, 
which  would  render  their  eating  the 
passover  with  sandalled  feet,  a  still 
stronger  mark  of  preparation  than  even 
the  previous  alternative.'  Pict.  Bible. 
It  does  not  appear  that  the  directions 
given  in  this  verse  were  held  to  be  bind- 
ing in  the  subsequent  observance  of  the 
paschal  rite.  It  is  clear,  at  least,  that 
our  Savior  and  his  Apostles  celebrated 
the  Passover  in  a  sittii^g  or  recumbent 
posture,  denoting  ease  and  security,  the 
contrary  of  the  urgent  haste  of  the  Is- 
raelites on  this  occasion. IT  It  is  the 

Lord's  passover.  Heb.  n05  pesah,  leap, 
or  transition.  So  called  from  the  figu- 
rative destroying  angel's  passing  over 
the  blood-marked  houses  of  the  Israel- 
ites. The  legitimate  signification  of 
the  original  is  to  leap  or  skip  over.  A 
phraseology  constructed  with  reference 
to  this  incident  occurs  Amos,  7.  8,  *  I 
will  not  pass  by  them  any  more  ;'  i.  e. 
I  will  not  grant  them  exemption  any 
more  ;  intimating  how  often  he  had 
passed  by  them,  as  now,  while  his 
judgments  were  abroad.     Gr.  Tracy  a. 

12.  f  vill  pass  through  the  land  of 
Egypt.  That  is,  in  the  infliction  olmy 
wrath.  Chal,  'I  will  reveal  myself  in 
the  land  of  Eg5'pt.'  Arab.  '1  will  make 
manifest  my  Angel.'  Thus  Amos,  5.  17, 
'And  in  all  vineyards  shall  be  wailing  ; 
ior  I  will  pass  through  thee,  saith  the 

Lord  ;'  i.  e.  in  desolating  judgment. 

IT  Against  all  the  gods  of  Egypt  I  uill 
execute  judgment.  Heb.  tTipi^  '^'Z'2 
hekol  Elohim,  by  which  may  be  meant 
not  only  the  objects  of  their  idolatrous 
worship,  but  also  the  princes  or  gran- 
dees of  the  nation.  Probably  the  most 
appropriate  sense  of  the  term  is  the 


general  one  of  poivers^  principalities, 
dignities,  whatever  in  hue  constituted 
the  grand  objects  of  their  dependence, 
whether  divine  or  human.  Arab.  'All 
the  objects  of  adoration.'  These  should 
all,  by  the  stupendous  judgments  of  this 
night,  be  turned  to  confusion  together, 
and  their  votaries  covered  with  indeli- 
ble shame.  What  could  be  a  more  sig- 
nal infliction  upon  the  gods  of  Egypt 
than  the  complete  exposure  of  their  im- 
potence to  aid  their  worshippers  in  a 
time  of  need  ?  We  have  elsewhere  but 
a  single  allusion  to  this  incident  of  the 
divine  visitation,  and  that  is  not  of  a 
nature  to  aflTord  us  any  help  to  a  more 
minute  explanation.  Num.  33.  4,  'For 
the  Egyptians  buried  all  their  first-born, 
which  the  Lord  had  smitten  among 
them ;  upon  their  gods  also  the  Lord 
executed  judgments.'  There  is  a  tra- 
dition among  the  JeVish  doctors,  which 
may  be  well  founded,  that  the  idols  of 
the  Egyptians  were  on  that  night  de- 
molished. Thus  Pirke  Eliezer,  ch.  4S, 
'When  Israel  came  out  of  Egypt,  what 
did  the  holy  blessed  God  do  ?  He  threw 
down  all  the  images  of  their  abomi- 
nations, and  they  were  broken  in  pieces.' 
Targ.  Jon.  'Their  molten  images  were 
dissolved  and  melted  down,  their  images 
of  stone  were  dashed  in  pieces,  tiieir 
images  made  of  earth  were  crumbled 
into  bits,  and  their  wooden  ones  reduced 
to  ashes.'  Artapanus  in  Prep.  Evang. 
of  Eusebius,  1.  9.  c.  27,  goes  so  far  as  to 
affirm,  that  most  of  the  Egyptian  tem- 
ples were  overthrown  on  this  occasion 
and  from  the  allusion  in  Isaiah,  ch.  1?. 
1,  to  the  idols  of  Egypt  being  moved  at 
[  the  Lord's  presence,  the  idea  is  per- 
i  haps  not  ill  founded.  It  would  be  a 
;  singular  fact  should  the  truth  prove  to 
I  be  tlvcit  the  traces  of  violent  wrenchings 
1  and  disruptions,  now  so  evident  in  the 


142 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  149J. 


13  And  tlie  \Aood  shall  be  to  you 
for  a  token  upon  the  houses  where 
ye  are :  and  wjien  I  see  the  blood, 
I  will  pass  over  you,  and  the  plague 
shall  not  be  upon  you  to  destroy  i/ou, 
when  I  smite  the  land  of  Egypt. 

1  i  And  this  day  shall  be  unto  you 


massy  ruins  of  the  temples  of  Upper 
and  Lower  Egypt,  should  have  happen- 
ed at  the  very  time  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking. 

13.  When  I  see  the  blood,  I  will  pass 
over  you.  Heb.  "^rinCD  pasahti  ;  the 
original  word  from  which  nCD  pesah, 
passover  is  derived,  and  a  different  one 
from  that  rendered  '  pass  through/  in 
the  preceding  verse.  Gr.  (7<Enaa(jj  viJtas, 
I  ivill  protect  you.  Chal.  I  will  com- 
miserate, or  spare  you.' IT  To  des- 
troy you.    Heb.  r'n'iL'I'Zp     lemashith, 

for  a  corruption  or   destruction. 

IT  Ye  shall  keep  it  a  feast  to  the  Lord. 
Heb.  3n  irii*  UuMl  haggothem  otho 
hag,  ye  shall  festivally  keep  it  a  feast. 

• TT  By  an  ordinance  for  ever.     Heb. 

t^1J>  Tipn  hukkath  olam,  a  statute  of 
eternity;  one  to  be  observed  as  long  as 
the  legal  economy  should  subsist. 

15.  Seven  days  shall  ye  eat,  &c.  That 
is,  seven  days  commencing  on  the  day 
after  the  killing  of  the  passover,  or  the 
fifteenth  day  of  the  month.  The  feast  of 
unleavened  bread  was  in  fact  a  distinct 
ordinance  from  the  passover,  though 
following  immediately  upon  it.  This 
law  respecting  the  feast  of  unleavened 
bread,  though  given  before  the  depar- 
ture  from  Kgypt,   seems  not   to  have 

gone  into  efttct  till  after  it. IF  Ye 

shall  put  au-ay.  Heb.  ir.'^ll'm  tashbi- 
thu,  ye  shall  cause  to  cease.  Gr.  ik/ki- 
vieire,  ye  shall  abolish  or  cause  to  dis- 
appear. 'This  was  probably  to  com- 
memorate the  fact  that  the  Israelites 
left  Egypt  in  such  haste,  that  they  had 
no  opportunity  to  leaven  their  dough 
(v.  39),  and  were  consequently  obliged, 
ill  the  first  instance,  to  eat  unleavened 
cakes,  (Deut.  16.  3).    The  present  in- 


J  for  a  memorial ;  and  ye  shall  keep 
it  a  m  feast  to  the  Lord  throughout 
your  generations:  ye  shall  keep 
It  a  feast  ^  by  an  ordinance  for- 
ever. 


Ich.  13.  9.    m  Lev.  23.4,  5.     2  King 
iver.  24.43.  &  ch.  13. 10. 


23.21. 


junction  is  even  now  attended  to  by 
modern  Jews  with  the  most  scrupulous 
precision.  The  master  of  the  family 
searches  every  corner  of  the  house  with 
a  candle,  lest  any  crumb  of  leavened 
bread  should  remain,  and  whatever  is 
found  is  committed  to  the  fire  ;  and  after 
all,  apprehending  that  some  may  still 
remain,  he  prays  to  God  that,  if  any 
leaven  be  still  in  the  house,  it  may  be- 
come like  the  dust  of  the  ground.  Ex- 
traordinary precautions  are  also  used 
in  preparing  the  unleavened  bread,  lest 
there  should  be  any  thing  like  leaven 
mixed  with  it,  or  any  kind  of  fermenta- 
tion take  place  in  it.  See  Jennings' 
'  Jewish  Antiquities.'  Two  distinct 
words  are  employed  to  signify  'leaven' 
in  this  verse,  the  former  of  which  ~ii<"J 
seor,  properly  imports  leaving  or  re- 
mainder, and  is  rendered  by  Ainsworth, 
the  most  exact  of  all  translators,  'old 
leaven,'  to  which  Paul  alludes,  1  Cor.  5' 
7,  'Purge  out  therefore  the  old  leaven/ 
&c.  The  other  y/^IH  hornet z,  is  so 
called  from  a  word  signifying  sourness. 
The  terms,  perhaps,  have  allusion  to  a 
two-fold  species  of  spiritual  leaven,  the 
one  hidden  and  secret,  or  hypocrisy, 
Luke,  ]2.  1,  the  other  open  malice  and 
wickedness,  Cor.  5.  8,  or  wicked  persons, 
as  David,  Ps.  71.  4,  calls  the  malicious 
and  imrighteous  man,  y?3"in  hornet z,  a 
havener,  though  rendered  in  our  trans- 
lation 'cruel  man.'  Thus  also  Ps.  73. 
21,  he  terms  the  heart  infected  with  er- 
ror and  filled  with  vexation,  'leavened,' 

although  our  version  has  'grieved.' 

IT  That  soul  shall  be  cut  off.  Shall  be 
excommunicated  from  the  society  and 
privileges  of  the  chosen  people,  either 
by  the  public  act  of  the  proper  officers, 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


143 


15  o  Seven  days  shall  ye  eat  un- 
leavened bread  ;  even  the  first  day 
ye. shall  put  away  leaven  out  of 
your  houses:  for  whosoever  eateth 
leavened  bread,  from  the  first  day 
until  the  seventh  day,  p  that  soul 
shall  be  cut  otf  from  Israel. 

16  And  in  the  first  day  there  shall 
be  q  an  holy  convocation,  and  in  the 
seventh  day  there  shall  be  a  holy 
convocation  to  you:  no  mamier  of 
work  shall  be  done  in  them,  save 
that  wbich  every  man  must  eat, 
that  only  may  be  done  of  you. 

17  And  ye  shall  observe  the  feast 
of  unleavened  bread ;  for  r  in  this 
self-same  day  have  I  brought  your 
armies  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt : 
therefore  shall  ye  observe  this  day 
in  your  generations  by  an  ordinance 
for  ev^er. 

"  ch.  13.  6,  7.  &  23.  15.  &  34.  18,  25.  Lev.  23. 

5.6.  Numb.  28.  17.     Deul.  16.  3,  8.     1  Cor. 

5.7.  P  Gen.  17.  14.  Numb.  9.  13.     qLev.23. 

7.8.  Numb.  28.  IS,  25.     rch.l3.  3. 

or  by  the  direct  hand  of  God  himself. 
See  Note  on  Gen.  17.  14. 

16.  An  holy  convocation.  Heb.  Ji'lp?^ 
''iD''\'\^  mikra  kodesh,  a  convocation  of 
holiness.  By  the  prohibition  of  secular 
work,  it  appears  that  these  days  were 
to  be  regarded  as  proper  sabbaths,  with 
the  exception  that  on  these  days  meat 
might  be  dressed,  which  was  unlawful 
on  the  Sabbath,  Ex.  16.  23,  24.  The 
original  for  'convocation'  comes  from  a 
vprb  5^1p  kara,  signifying  to  call,  to 
make  proclamation,  and  implies  the 
summoning  the  people  together  by  the 
sound  of  the  trumpet,  as  is  intimated 
Num.  10.  2,  '^lake  thee  two  trumpets  of 
silver — that  thou  mayest  use  them  for 
the  calling  of  the  people  ;'  the  same 
word  as  that  here  rendered  '  convoca- 
tion.'  IT  Save  that  which  every  man 

must  eat.  Heb.  rr:}  ^^  A:o/  nephcsh, 
every  soul ;  i.  e.  every  person.  See 
Note  on  Gen.  14.  21. 

17.  In  this  self  sarne  day.  Ileb.  tiry^ 
ntn  -  .^1  be  etzem  ha-yom  hazzeh,  in 


IS  II sin  the  first  jnonth,  on  the 
fourteenth  day  of  the  month  at  even, 
ye  shall  eat  unleavened  bread,  un- 
til the  one  and  twentieth  day  of 
the  month  at  even. 

19  t  Seven  days  shall  there  be  no 
leaven  found  in  your  houses:  for 
whosoever  eateth  that  which  is 
leavened,  "  even  that  soul  shall  be 
cut  off  from  the  congregation  of 
Israel,  Avheiher  he  be  a  stranger, 
or  born  in  the  land. 

20  Ve  shall  eat  nothing  leavened : 
in  all  your  habitations  shall  ye  eat 
unleavened  bread. 

21  HThen  Moses  called  for  all 
the  elders  of  Israel,  and  said  unto 
them,  i  Draw  out,  and  take  you  a 
lamb,  according  to  your  families, 
and  kill  the  passover. 

s  Lev.  23.  5.  Numb.  28. 16.  t  Exod.  23. 15. 
&  34.  18.  Deut.  lb.  3.  1  Cor.  5. 7,  8.  u  Numb. 
y.  13.  X  ver.  3.  Numb.  9.  4.  Josh.  5.  10. 
2  Kings  23.  21.  Ezra  6.  20.  Matt.  26. 18,  19. 
Mark  14.  12,-16.     Luke  22.  7,  &c. 


the  strength  or  bone  of  this  day.     Se^ 

Note  on  Gen.  7. 13. H  Have  Jbrought, 

&c.  As  the  deliverance  of  the  Israel- 
ites had  not  yet  been  actually  accom- 
plished, this  phraseology  is  doubtless 
adopted  on  the  ground  of  the  certainty 
of  the  event  in  the  view  of  the  divine 
mind,  and  as  the  matter  of  his  promise. 

IS.  Ye  shall  cat.  Ye  shall  begin  to 
eat. 

19.  Whether  he  be  a  stranger  or  born 
in  the  land.  As  '  strangers,'  strictly  so 
called,  or  foreigners,  were  not  permitted 
to  partake  of  the  Passover  unless  pre- 
viously converted  and  circumcised,  v. 
43,  44,  the  word  must  here  be  under- 
stood of  gentile  proselytes  in  contra- 
distinction from  native-born  Israelites. 

21.  Draw  out  and  take  you  a  lamb. 
Heb.  '■i;;';;?^  mlshku.  Draw  out  from 
the  folds.  Of  this  word,  which  is  fre- 
quently em])loycd  in  the  sense  o[  draft'' 
ing  or  making  a  levy,  see  a  full  expla- 
nation in  tlie  Note  on  Judg.  4.  6. 

IT  A'ill  the  passover.     That  is,  the  lamb 


144 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


22  y  And  ye  shall  take  a  bunch  of  j 
hyssop,  and  dip  it  in  the  blood  ihat 
is  in  the  bason,  and  z  strike  the  lin- 
tel and  the  two  side-posts  with  the 
blood  that  is  in  the  bason :  and 
none  of  you  shall  go  out  at  the  door 
of  his  house  until  the  morning-. 

23  a  For  the  Lord  will  pass  through 
to  smite  the  Egyptians ;  and  when 
he  seeth  the  blood  upon  the  lin- 
tel, and  on  the  two  side-posts,  the 
Lord  will  pass  over  the  door,  and 
b  will  not  suffer  c  the  destroyer  to 

yHebr.  11.28.  z  ver.7.  a  ver.  12.  13.  b  Ezek. 
9.  6.  Rev.  7.  3.  &  9.  4.  =2  Sam.  24.  16.  1  Cor. 
10.10.     Hebr.  11.28. 

of  the  Passover  ;  the  animal  slain  being 
called,  by  a  figure  of  speech,  by  the 
name  of  the  institution  of  which  it  con- 
stituted a  leading  feature.  In  accord- 
ance with,this,  we  often  meet  with  the 
phrase  'to  eat  the  Passover,'  'to  prepare 
the  Passover,'  &c. ;  and  in  like  manner 
the  word  '  covenant'  is  used  for  the 
sacrifice  offered  in  making  the  cove- 
nant; the  'rock'  that  followed  the  Isra- 
ehtes  'was  Christ ;'  and  the  'bread  and 
wine'  of  the  sacrament  are  the  '  body 
and  blood'  of  Christ. 

22.  Ye  shall  take  a  branch  of  hyssop. 
A  plant  growing  about  a  foot  and  a  half 
high,  having  bushy  stalks,  terminated 
by  spikes  of  flowers,  and  leaves  of  an 
aromatic  smell,  and  warm,  pungent 
taste.  It  grows  in  great  plenty  on  the 
mountains  near  Jerusalem.  From  its 
growing  in  bunches,  and  putting  out 
many  suckers  from  a  single  root,  it  was 
well  adapted  to  the  purpose  here  men- 
tioned, as  also  for  purifications  of  differ- 
ent kinds. IT  None  of  you  shall  go 

out.  This  injunction  seems  also  pecu- 
liar to  this  first  Passover,  as  the  reason 
for  it  did  not  exist  afterwards.  In  allu- 
sion to  this  language  the  prophet  says, 
Isa.  26.  20,  'Come,  my  people,  enter 
thou  into  tliy  chambers,  and  shut  thy 
doors  about  thee  ;  hide  thyself  as  it 
were  fur  a  little  moment,  until  the  in- 
dignation be  overpast.'    Those  who  ex- 


come  in  unto  your  houses  to  smite 
you. 

24  And  ye  shall  observe  this 
thing  for  an  ordinance  to  thee  and 
to  thy  sons  for  ever. 

25  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when 
ye  be  come  to  the  land  which  the 
Lord  will  give  you,  ^  according  as 
he  hath  promised,  that  ye  shall 
keep  this  service. 

26  e  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
when  your  children  shall  say  unto 
you,  What  mean  ye  by  this  service? 

J  ch.  3.  8,  17.  e  ch.  13.  8,  14.  Deut.  32.  7. 
Josh.  4.  6.     P.s.  78.  6.      . 


pect  God's  salvation  must  abide  by  the 
terms  on  which  he  has  declared  it  his 
purpose  to  grant  it. 

23,  When  he  seeth  the  blood,  &c.  No 
destroyer  can  smite  unless  God  first 
grant  him  a  commission.  And  the  Most 
High  always  recognises  his  own  mark 
upon  those  who  bear  it,  and  while  they 
are  'passed  over'  and  spared  in  the  visi- 
tation of  his  wrath,  all  others  must 
expect  to  fall  under  the  stroke  of  his 
breath, Tf  Will  not  suffer  the  de- 
stroyer to  come  in,  &c.  By  this  is  gen- 
erally understood  a  destroying  angel. 
But  as  the  term  'angel'  is  often  employ- 
ed figuratively  as  a  personification  of 
divine  judgments,  we  have  no  question 
that  this  is  the  preferable  sense  here. 
But  as  the  subject  has  already  been  fully 
discussed  in  another  place  (Note  on  Ex. 
3.2.),  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  recite 
the  arguments  again  in  connexion  with 
this  passage. 

25.  Ye  shall  keep  this  service.  That 
is,  with  the  exception  of  those  circum- 
stances of  the  ordinance  w^hich  in  their 
own  nature  \vere  confined  to  the  first  in- 
stance of  its  celebration. 

26.  When  your  children  say  unto  youy 
What  mean  ye  by  this  service?  Heb. 
Gib  Tii^Tn  mnSTI  ri>2  mah  ha-ahodah 
hazzoth  lakem,  what  this  service  to  you  ? 
i.  e.  what  does  it  signify  ?  The  annual 
observance  of  this  ceremony  was  well 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


145 


27  That  ye  shall  say,  at  is  the 
sacriiice  of  the  Lord's  passover, 
who  passed  over  the  houses  of  the 
children  of  Israel  m  Egypt,  when 
lie  smote  the  Egyptians,  and  deliv- 
ered our  houses.  And  the  people 
g  bowed  the  head  and  worship- 
ped. 

28  And  the  children  of  Israel  went 
away,  and  h  did  as  the  Lord  had 

*ver.  11.    sell.  4.  31.     i>  Ilebr.  11.  28. 


calculated  to  secure  the  perpetual  re- 
membrance of  the  events  which  it  cele- 
brated. The  various  rites  and  usages 
connected  with  it  were  so  peculiar,  they 
made  such  an  inroad  upon  the  ordinary 
routine  of  domestic  life,  that  the  curi- 
osity of  children  would  be  naturally  ar- 
rested, and  they  would  be  led  to  inquire 
into  the  reasons  of  such  strange  pro- 
ceedings. This  would  afford  t-i  parents 
the  o})portunity  to  acquaint  their  off- 
spring with  the  origin  and  im])ort  of  the 
solenm  service,  and  to  impart  to  them 
all  those  related  instructions  which 
were  so  important  to  be  received  into 
their  opening  minds.  The  inquisitive- 
iiess  of  children  when  it  flows  in  this 
channel,  prompting  them  to  learn  the 
reasons  of  religious  services  and  the 
meaning  of  the  various  solemn  ordi- 
nances which  they  behold,  is  always  to 
be  encouraged.  Indeed  we  see  not  how 
pious  parents  at  this  day  can  take  their 
children  to  witness  the  common  ordi- 
nances of  the  Christian  Church,  viz. bap- 
tism and  the  Lord's  supper,  and  consider 
their  duty  discharged  without  explain- 
ing to  them  the  nature  of  those  solemn 
rites,  and  endeavoring  to  impress  upon 
their  minds  the  du 
which  they  involve 

27.  The  people  haired  the  head  and 
tvorshipped.  That  is,  when  all  these 
informations  and  instructions  were  com- 
municated to  them  by  the  elders  ;  for  it 
seems  from  v.  21,  that  Moses'  address 
was  made  to  the  people  through  the 
elders. 

\oi.   I  13 


commanded  Moses  and  Aaron,  so 
did  they. 

29  If  i  And  it  came  to  pass,  that 
at  midnight  ^  the  Lord  smote  all 
the  tirst-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 
'from  llie  hrsl-born  of  Pharaoh  that 
sat  on  his  throne,  unto  the  first- 
born of  the  captive  that  was  in  the 

>ch.  11.4.  k  Numb.  8.  17.  &. S3.  4.  Ps.7a.51. 
&  105.  aa.  &  1 35.  6.  &  130.  10.  1  ch.  4.  Ti.  & 
11.5. 


2h.  And  the  children  of  Israel  went 
away  and  did  as  the  Lord  commanded. 
This  was  a  very  proper  sequel  to  the 
professions  implied  in  tlieir  bowing  and 
worshipping.  Unless  followed  by  a 
prompt  and  candid  obedience  our  acts 
of  external  reverence  are  a  '  bodily  ex- 
ercise tliat  profiteth  little.' 

29.  At  inidnis;ht  the  Lord  smote  all 
the  first-born,  &c.  Had  this  judgment 
been  executed  by  an  angel,  it  would 
have  been  natural  for  the  writer  here  to 
have  said  that  the  angel  went  forth  at 
midnight  and  smote  all  the  first-boru  of 
the  Egyptians,  both  of  men  and  cattle. 
Ijut  it  is  ascribed  directly  to  the  Most 
High  himself,  as  no  doubt  it  is  to  be  un- 
derstood. Indeed  it  is  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  to  conceive  of  such  an  effect 
wrought  at  one  and  the  same  time  all 
over  Egypt  by  the  agency  of  a  single 
angel.  We  are  obliged  to  conceive  of 
him  in  this  work  as  passing  from  house 
to  house  in  at  least  successive  moments 
of  time,  and  as  we  may  suppose  that 
there  were  many  thousands  slain,  we 
see  not  how  they  could  all  have  been 
said  to  perish  at  the  hour  of  midnight, 
as  they  undoubtedly  did.  On  the  whole 
there  can  be  no  question  we  think  that 
the  judgment  in  v.  23,  is  personified. 
But  how  shall  we  adequately  conceive 
of  the  complicated  horrors  of  that  fear- 
ful night  ?  The  groans  of  the  dying, 
mingled  with  tlie  shrieks  of  the  living, 
broke  in  upon  the  stillness  of  the  night, 
and  from  the  imperial  palace  to  the 
poorest  hovel,  lamentation  and  mourn- 


146 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


dungeon;  and  all  the  first-born  of 
cattle. 

30  And  Pharaoh  rose  up  m  the 
night,  he,  and  all  his  servants,  and 
alf  the  Egyptians;  and  there  was 


ing  and  woe  were  heard  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  !  Three 
days  and  three  nights  previously  they 
had  been  wrapped  in  gloomy  darkness, 
even  darkness  whi«di  might  be  lelt,  and 
no  one  had  risen  up  that  night  from  his 
place.  But  now  they  were  aroused  from 
their  beds  to  render  what  aid  they 
could,  though  all  in  vain,  to  their  ex- 
piring children  and  brothers  and  sisters. 
The  blow  was  universal  and  irresist- 
ible. There  was  no  discharge  in  that 
warfare,  and  no  respect  of  persons  in 
the  indiscriminate  destruction  of  the 
appointed  victims.  All  the  first-born, 
from  man  in  the  vigor  of  manhood  to 
the  infant  which  had  just  been  born, 
died  in  that  hour  of  death.  The  stay, 
the  comfort,  the  delight  of  every  fami- 
ly was  annihilated  at  a  single  stroke  ! 
And  how  natural  was  it  for  them  in 
such  a  scene  of  carnage  to  fancy  that 
they  were  all  doomed  to  destruction, 
and  that  the  work  of  death  would  not 
C€ase  till  they  had  all  perished  ?  But 
let  us  not  fail  to  recognise  the  right- 
eous retribution,  as  well  as  the  awful 
terrors  of  the  Almighty  in  this  visita- 
tion. The  Egyptians  had  killed  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Lord's  people,  and  now  their 
own  children  die  before  their  eyes.  Is- 
raelitish  mothers  had  wept  over  the 
cruel  deaths  of  their  infants,  and  now 
Egyptian  mothers  wept  for  the  same 
woe.  Upwards  of  eighty  years  before 
had  that  persecution  begun,  but  the  Lord 
visits  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon 
the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them 
that  liate  him,  and  now  the  day  of  his 
vengeance  and  recompense  was  come. 
The  cry  of  these  slaughtered  innocents 
had  risen  up,  'How  long,  O  Lord  holy 
and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge 
our  blood  V  A  book  of  remembrance  had 


a  '« great  cry  in  Egypt :  for  there 
was  not  a  house  where  there  was 
not  one  dead. 

».  eh.  ll.G.  Prov.21.13.  Amos  5. 17.  Jam. 
2.  13. 


been  written,  space  for  repentance  had 
been  afforded,  warnings  had  been  given  j 
but  all  had  been  unavailing,  and  now 
nought  remained  but  that  justice  should 
do  its  desolating  work.  And  similar 
will  the  issue  be  with  those  who  af- 
ter their  impenitent  hearts  treasure  up 
wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath.  If 
they  turn  not  he  will  whet  his  glitter- 
ing sword,  and  a  great  ransom  will  not 
then  deliver  them. 

30.  Not  a  house  where  there  was  not 
one  dead.  As  it  is  somewhat  diflicult 
to  suppose  that  in  every  house  in  Egypt 
every  first-born  child  was  still  alive, 
the  present  expression  is  probably  to 
be  taken  with  some  qualification.  We 
may  either  suppose  '  house'  in  this  case 
equivalent  to  '  family,'  or  the  phrase 
may  be  classed  with  those  absolute 
modes  of  speech  which  are  yet  to  be 
understood  comparatively.  We  have  al- 
ready noticed  a  striking  usage  of  this 
kind  in  what  is  said  of  '  all  the  cattle/ 
and  'all  the  herbs,'  in  ch.  10. 15.  In  fact 
the  universal  negative  or  affirmative 
terms  'none'  and  'all'  are  very  frequent- 
ly to  be  understood  with  exceptions,  es- 
pecially when  such  exceptions  are  so  few 
as  scarcely  to  deserve  notice  when  com- 
pared with  the  cases  in  which  the  pro- 
position holds  good.  Thus  it  is  said, 
Ps.  53.  3,  'There  is  none  that  doeth 
good  ;'  i.  e.  scarcely  any  one.  So  Jer. 
5.  1,  'Run  ye  to  and  fro  through  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem,  and  see  now,  and 
know,  and  seek  in  the  broad  places 
thereof,  if  ye  can  find  a  man,  if  there 
be  any  that  exccuteth  judgment,  that 
seekelh  the  truth ;'  which  has  a  strong 
negative  implication,  and  yet  we  can- 
not doubt  that  there  were  actually  pious 
men  then  living  in  Jerusalem,  especi- 
ally the  prophets.    On  the  same  prmci- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


147 


31  HAnd  "he  called  for  Mo^ 
and  Aaron  by  nic^lit,  and  said,  Rise 
up,  and  get  you  forth  from  among 
my  peo})le,  ^'  both  ye  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel :  and  go,  serve  the 
Lord,  as  ye  have  said. 

32  pAlso   take   your   flocks   and 

nch.ll.l.  Ps. 105.38.  och.  10.  9.  P  ch. 
10.  20. 

pie  it  is  said  1  Sam.  25. 1,  'And  Samuel 
died ;  and  all  the  Israelites  were  gath- 
ered tog^ether  and  lamented  him,  and 
buried  him ;'  i.  e.  the  body  of  the  na- 
tion ;  not  in  the  most  literal  sense  everj'^ 
individual.  In  like  manner,  John,  12. 
19,  'The  Pharisees  therefore  said  among 
themselves,  Perceive  ye  how  ye  avail 
nothing?  behold,  the  world  is  gone  after 
him :'  i.  e.  the  great  mass  of  the  people. 
We  may  suppose  therefore  that  all  that 
is  implied  in  the  present  case  is,  that 
nearly  every  house  in  Egypt  had  one  or 
more  slain  in  it. 

31.  Called  for  Moses  and  Aaron.  As 
Moses  had  before  this  withdrawn  from 
the  presence  of  Pharaoh,  with  the  de- 
termination to  see  his  face  no  more, 
this  must  be  understood  to  mean  that 
Pharaoh  sent  his  servants  or  deputies 
to  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  thus  commu- 
nicated his  message  to  them.  See  Note 
on  Gen.  49.  1.  This  was  a  striking  ful- 
filment of  Moses'  previous  declaration, 
ch.  11.  8,  and  clearly  proving  that  he 
then  spake  under  a  divine  impulse  ^ 
'And  all  these  thj'  servants  shall  come 
down  unto  me,  and  bow  down  them- 
selves unto  me,  sajdng,  Get  thee  out, 
and  all  the  people  that  follow  thee.' 

32.  Also  take  your  flocks,  &c.  Pha- 
raoh's pride  is  now  effectually  humbled, 
and  he  surrenders  at  discretion.  He 
yields  unreservedly  to  all  that  Moses 
had  insisted  on,  and  even  betrays  so 
much  of  a  guilty  conscience  as  to  beg 
an  interest  in  ids  ])rayers ;  for  this  is 
evidently  to  be  tmderstood  by  the  re- 
quest that  Moses  would  bless  him  also. 
He  desired  that  Moses  would  bless  him 


your  herds,  as  ye  have  said,  and  be 
gone  :  and  4  bless  me  also. 

33  r  And  the  Egyptians  were  ur- 
gent upon  the  ]:)eoj)le,  tliat  they 
miglit  send  them  out  of  the  land  in 
jtaste ;  for  they  said,  s  We  be  all 
dead  men. 

qGen.  27.  ?A.  rcli.  II.  8.  Ps  105.  38 
s  Geii.  20.  3. 


by  invoking  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
him.  Chal.  'Pray  for  me  also,'  Arab. 
'Cause  me  to  receive  indulgence.'  The 
oj^pressor  is  here  taught  that  the  Israel 
oi  God  is  not  only  a  blessed,  but  a  bless- 
ing people,  and  that  it  is  highly  desir- 
able to  have  the  benefit  of  their  inter- 
cessions. Yet  the  sequel  shows  clearly 
that  even  now  he  was  not  penitent.  He 
subnutted  not  in  heart,  nor  sincerely 
humbled  himself  be: ore  God.  He  let 
them  go  by  constraint  and  most  unwil- 
lingly. He  would  still  have  held  out  if 
he  had  dared,  and  he  yielded  only  be- 
cause he  could  oppose  no  longer.  He 
made  a  forced  show  of  obedience,  but  his 
heart  v>  as  as  hard  and  rebellious  as  ever. 
33.  And  the  Egyptians  ivere  urgent. 
Heb.  D^n^?3  pTnni  vattehezak  Mitz- 
raim,  and  Egypt  wOrS  strong  upon  them  ; 
the  same  word  in  the  original  with  that 
which  is,  for  the  most  part,  applied  to 
the  hardening  (strengthening)  of  Pha- 
raoh's heart-  im])lying  a  most  vehement, 
pressing  urgency.  Gr. /,-ar£'?(  ((otro.  Ps. 
lOo.  38,  'Egypt  was  glad  when  they  de- 
parted :  for  the  fear  of  them  fell  upon 
them.'  Jerus.  Targ.  '  The  Egyptians 
said,  If  Israel  tarry  one  hour,  lo,  all  the 
Egyptians  are  dead  men.'  For  ought 
they  know,  the  ])lague  they  had  experi- 
enced might  be  but  the  precursor  of  an- 
other still  more  dreadful,  that  would 
sweep  off  the  whole  population  in  a 
mass.  '  When  death  comes  into  our 
houses,  it  is  seasonable  for  us  to  think 
of  our  own  mortality.  Are  our  rela- 
tions dead  ?  It  is  casjf  to  infer  thence 
that  we  are  dying,  and  in  effect  already 
dead  men.'     Henry. 


148 


EXODUS. 


\B,  C.  149?. 


34  And    the    people    took    llieir  |  i^ording  to  the  word  of  Mose?^ ; 
dough  before  it  was  leavened,  their 
kneading  troughs  being  hound  up  in 
iheir  clothes  upon  their  shoulders. 

35  And  the  children  of  Israel  did 


31.  Their  kneading-troughs  being 
bound  up,  &c.  Heb.  Qnii^'I/?0  misha- 
rot  ham,  prop,  relics.  Targ.  Jon.  'What 
Avas  left  of  the  unleavened  bread  and 
the  bitter  herbs  j'  -with  which  Jarchi 
concurs.  The  Gr.  varies,  rendering  it 
ra  (Inipajjara,  lumps  of  dough,  for  which 
it  is  not  easy  to  determine  their  author- 
ity. The  Hebrew  term  is  supposed  to 
signify  both  the  dough  and  the  vessel  in 
which  it  was  contained ;  and  it  is  pro- 
bable that  the  dough  was  wrapped  in 
some  kind  of  covering  cloth,  or  thrown 
into  some  kind  of  sack,  as  the  word 
rendered  'clothes'  denotes  any  thing 
which  covers  a  substance,  or  wherein  it 
is  wrapped.  Arab.  'Their  cold  mass  of 
dough  being  bound  up  in  towels,  and  put 
on  their  shoulders.'  We  learn  indeed 
from  the  reports  of  modern  travellers 
that  the  vessels  which  some  of  the  ori- 
ental tribes  make  use  of  for  kneading 
the  unleavened  cakes  while  travelling 
in  the  desert,  are  small  wooden  bowls, 
in  which  they  both  knead  their  bread, 
and  afterward  serve  up  their  provisions 
when  cooked  ;  yet  Dr.  Pocock  informs 
us  that  the  xirabs  not  unfrequently  carry 
their  dough  in  something  else,  and  gives 
a  description  of  a  round  leather  cover- 
lid, which  they  lay  on  the  ground,  and 
from  off  which  they  eat,  having  a  num- 
ber of  rings  round  it,  by  which  it  is 
drawn  together  with  a  chain,  terminat- 
ing in  a  hook  to  hang  it  by.  This  is 
drawn  together,  and  tliey  sometimes 
carry  in  it  their  meal  made  into  dough  ; 
and  in  this  manner  they  bring  it  full  of 
bread ;  and  when  the  repast  is  over, 
carry  it  all  away  at  once.  Which  of 
these  two  kinds  of  vessels  is  meant  in 
this  place  cannot  easily  be  ascertained, 
but  there  is  no  question  that  some  other 
term  than  <  kneading-troughs'  ought  to 


and  they  borrowed  of  theEg^ptians 
'jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of 
gold,  and  raiment* 

tch.  3.  22,  &  II.  2. 

be  adopted.  The  habit  is  very  natural 
of  identifying  oriental  utensils  with  our 
own  when  the  same  name  is  given  to 
both,  although  the  ideas  thus  acquired 
are  often  extremely  incorrect. 

35.  They  borrowed  of  the  Egyptians 
jewels,  &c.  'Dr.  Boothroyd,  instead  of 
borrow,  translates  'ask.'  Dr.  A.  Clarke 
says,  '  request,  demand,  require.'  The 
Israelites  wished  to  go  three  days' jour- 
ney into  the  wilderness,  that  they  might 
hold  a  feast  unto  the  Lord.  When  the 
Orientals  go  to  their  sacred  festivals, 
I  they  always  put  on  their  best  jewels. 
Not  to  appear  before  the  gods  in  such  a 
way,  they  consider  would  be  disgrace- 
ful to  themselves  and  displeasing  to  the 
deities.  A  person,  whose  clothes  or 
jewels  are  indifferent,  will  borrow  of 
his  richer  neiglibors ;  and  nothing  is 
more  common  than  to  see  poor  people 
standing  before  the  temples,  or  engaged 
in  sacred  ceremonies,  well  adorned  with 
jewels.  The  almost  pauper  bride  or 
bridegroom  at  a  marriage  may  often 
be  seen  decked  with  gems  of  the  most 
costly  kind,  which  have  been  borrowed 
for  the  occasion.  It  fully  accords  there- 
fore, with  the  idea  of  what  is  due  at  a 
sacred  or  social  feast,  to  be  thus  adorn- 
ed in  their  best  attire.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, it  would  be  perfectly  easy 
to  borrow  of  the  Egyptians  their  jewels, 
as  tliey  themselves,  in  their  festivals, 
would  doubtless  wear  the  same  things. 
It  is  also  recorded  the  Lord  gave  them 
'favor  in  the  sight  of  the  Egyptians.' 
It  does  not  appear  to  have  been  fully 
known  to  the  Hebrews,  that  they  wore 
going  finally  to  leave  Egypt :  they  might 
expect  to  return ;  and  it  is  almost  cer- 
tain that,  if  their  oppressors  had  known 
they  were  not  to  return,  they  would  not 
have  lent  them  their  jewels.'    Roberts. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


149 


36  u  And  the  Lord  ijave  the  people 
favour  in  tlie  sight  of  the  Egyptians 
so  that  they  lent  unto  them  such 
things  as  they  required :  and  ^^  they 
spoiled  the  Egyptians. 

37  II  And  y  the  children  of  Israel 

u.-h.  3.  21.  &  11.  3.  X- Gen.  15.  14.  ch.  3.  22. 
Ps.  105.  37.     y  Numb.  33.  3,  5. 


36.  They  lent  unto  them.  Heb.Glii^'::'i1 
va-yashilum,  caused  them  to  ask.  That 
is,  their  deportment  toward  tlie  Israel- 
ites was  such,  they  were  so  extremely 
anxious  for  their  departure,  and  evinced 
such  a  promptitude  in  furthering  it,  that 
a  strong  inducement  was  held  out  to 
them  to  ask  for  the  articles  which  they 

received. IT  Spoiled  the  Egyptians. 

This  was  in  fulfilment  of  the  promise 
made  to  Abraham,  Gen.  15.  14,  'They 
shall  come  out  with  great  substance.' 
Israel  came  into  Egypt  few  in  numbers, 
weak,  and  indigent ;  but  they  go  out 
from  the  land  of  their  oppressors  great- 
ly increased,  mighty,  and  formidable; 
laden  with  the  spoils  of  their  cruel  op- 
pressors, the  well-earned  reward  of  the 
labors  of  many  years,  and  of  much  sor- 
row. In  allusion,  perhaps,  to  this  event, 
God  says  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  ch. 
39.  10,  'And  they  shall  spoil  those  that 
spoiled  them,  and  rob  them  that  robbed 
them,  saith  the  Lord  God.'  See  Note 
on  Ex.  3.  22. 

37.  Journeyed  from  Rameses  to  Suc- 
coth.  Heb.  '^.^D'^  yisti.  The  primitive 
meaning  of  yCD  nasa,  is  to  pluck  out,  to 
pull  up  or  out,  being  especially  applied 
to  pulling  up  the  stakes  or  pins  by 
which  the  tents  of  the  nomades  were 
fastened  to  the  earth,  and  which  was 
done  by  the  way  of  preparing  for  mi- 
gration to  another  place.  Hence  the 
secondary  meaning  of  departing,  jour- 
neying, proceeding,  &c.  Rameses  was 
one  of  those  cities  which  the  Israelites, 
ch.  1.11,  are  said  to  have  built  for  Pha- 
raoh. It  was  probably  in  the  land  of 
Goshen,  and  was  made  on  this  occasion 
the  place  of  general  rendezvous  before 
their  departure.     Professor  Stuart  has 

13* 


journeyed  from  zEameses  to  Suc- 
cotii,ahoutasixhundredi]iousandon 
foot  thai  were  men,  beside  children. 
38  And  a  mixed  multitude  went 
up  also  with  them  ;  and  flocks,  and 
herds,  even  very  much  cattle. 

z  Gen.  47. 11.  a  Gen.  12.  2.  &  46.  3.  ch.  38. 
26.     Nuinb.  1.  46.  &  11.  21. 

given  very  plausible  reasons  for  believ- 
ing that  this  place  occu})ied  the  site  of 
the  ruins  of  Aboukeyshid,  lying  about 
half  way,  or  forty  miles  from  Suez. 
Succoth  signifies  tents  or  tent-places, 
and  does  not  necessarily  imply  the  ex- 
istence of  a  town  of  this  name  in  an- 
cient times  ;  at  any  rate,  no  remains  of 
such  an  one  are  found  at  the  present 
time  in  the  desert,  or  any  of  the  routes 
from  the  Nile  to  Suez.  Nothing  more 
is  necessary  than  to  suppose  Succoth 
to  be  an  ordinary  enc ampin g-place  for 
caravans  between  Rameses  (Aboukey- 
shid) and  Suez,  for  those  who  took  the 
direct  route.  The  original  word  comes 
from  a  root  signifying  to  hide,  cover, 
defend,  and  this  was  the  design  of 
those  temporary  tenements  made  of  the 
boughs  of  trees,  in  which  the  Israelites 
lodged  at  this  station,  and  in  memory 
of  which  they  were  required,  as  a  stand- 
ing ordinance,  to  keep  the  'feast  of  tab- 
ernacles' once  every  year. IT  About 

six  hundred  thousand  men.  Heb.  C^^DS 
geborim,  strong  men.  If  we  compute 
the  whole  number  of  Israelites,  male 
and  female,  adult  persons  and  children, 
and  allow  tli^  proportion  of  four  to  one 
between  the  number  of  the  whole  na- 
tion and-  those  who  were  fit  to  bear 
arms,  it  will  give  an  aggregate  of  two 
millions  four  hundred  thousand  souls 
which  went  out  of  Egypt  with  Moses 
and  Aaron.  Of  this  immense  multitude 
the  Psalmist  says,  Ps.  105.  37,  '  He 
brought  them  forth  also  with  silver  and 
gold :  and  there  Avas  not  one  ieebie  yer- 
son  among  all  their  tribes.' 

38.  A  mixed  multitude.  Heb.  i^5> 
D**!  ereb  rab,  a  great  mixture;  a  mul- 
titude composed  of  strangers,  paitly 


150 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


1^9  And  they  baked  unleavened 
cakes  of  the  dough  which  they 
bi ought  forth  out  of  Etrypt,  for  it 
Avas  not  leavened:  because  b  they 
were  thrust  out  of  Egypt,  and  could 
not  tarry,  neither  had  they  prepared 
for  themselves  any  victual. 

40  H  Now  the  sojourning  of  the 
children  of  Israel  who  dwelt  in 
Egypt,  was  c  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years. 


bch.  6.  1.  &  11.  1.  &  ver.  33. 
Acts  7.  6.     Gal.  3.  17. 


Gen.  15.  13. 


Egyptians,  and  partly  natives  of  other 
countries,  who  had  been  prevailed  upon 
by  the  miracles  wrought  in  behalf  of 
the  Israelites,  and  from  other  motives, 
to  embark  with  them  in  the  present  en- 
terprise of  leaving  Egypt.  Thus  Zech, 
8:  23,  'In  those  days  it  shall  come  to 
pass  that  ten  men  shall  take  hold  out 
of  all  languages  of  the  nations,  even 
shall  take  hold  of  the  skirt  of  him  that 
is  a  Jew,  saying,  We  will  go  with  you, 
for  we  have  heard  that  God  is  with 
you.'  It  can  hardly  be  supposed,  how- 
ever,  that  the  major  part  of  them  were 
prompted  by  considerations  so  credit- 
able to  their  piety.  Self-interest  was, 
no  doubt,  the  moving  spring  with  the 
great  mass.  Some  of  them  were  prob- 
ably Egyptians  of  the  poorer  class,  who 
■were  in  hopes  to  better  their  condition 
in  some  way,  or  had  other  good  reasons 
for  leaving  Egypt.  Others  were  per- 
haps loreign  slaves  belonging  both  to 
the  Hebrews  and  Egyptians,  who  were 
glad  to  take  the  opportunity  of  escaping 
with  the  Israelites.  Others  again  were 
a  mere  rude  restless  mob,  a  company 
of  hangers-on,  that  followed  the  crowd 
they  scarcely  knew  why,  perhaps  made 
up  of  such  vagabonds,  adventurers,  and 
debtors,  as  could  no  longer  stay  safely 
in  Egypt.  Whoever  or  whatever  they 
were,  the  Israelites  were  no  better  for 
their  presence,  and  like  thousands  in 
all  ages  that  turn  their  faces  towards 
Zion,  and  run  well  for  a  time,  when 


4 1  And  it  came  to  pass,  at  the  end 
of  the  four  hundred  and  thirty  years, 
even  the  self-same  day  it  came  to 
pass,  that  all  ^  the  hosts  of  the  Lord 
went  out  from  the  land  of  Egypt. 

42  It  is  e  a  night  to  be  much  ob- 
served unto  the  Lord,  for  bringing 
them  out  from  the  land  of  Egypt : 
this  is  that  night  of  the  Lord  to  be 
observed  of  all  the  children  of  Is- 
rael in  their  generations. 

dch.  7.  4.&  ver.  51.     e  See  Deut.  16.  6. 


they  came  to  experience  a  little  of  the  I 

hardships  of  the  v^ray,  they  quitted  the  | 

people  of  God  and  returned  to  Egypt. 

40.  Now  the  sojourning,  &c.  The 
following  is  a  more  accurate  version  of 
the  original ;  'Now  the  sojourning  of  the 
children  of  Israel  which  they  sojourned 
in  Egypt  was  four  hundred  and  twenty 
years.'  The  date  of  this  event  is  to  be 
reckoned  probably  from  the  time  that 
Abraham  received  the  promise.  Gen.  15. 
13,  which  makes  just  430  years,  as  de- 
tailed in  the  Note  in  loc.  From  the 
time  that  Jacob  and  his  sons  came  into 
Egypt  to  that  of  the  deliverance,  was 
only  215  years.  The  phrase,  'children 
of  Israel,'  is  to  be  taken  therefore  in  a 
somewhat  larger  sense  than  usual,  as 
equivalent  to  'Hebrews,'  and  of  them  it 
might  properly  be  said,  that  they  were 
sojourners  in  a  land  that  was  not  theirs, 
either  Canaan  or  Egypt,  for  the  space 
of  time  here  mentioned.  Unless  we 
consider  the  words  as  comprehending 
their  fathers,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Ja- 
cob, we  cannot  include  in  them  Israel 
himself,  who  was  the  person  that 
brought  them  into  Egypt,  and  lived 
there  with  his  family  for  the  space  of 
seventeen  years. 

41.  Even  the  self -same  day.     Imply- 
ing probably  that  the  time  corresponded  j 
to  a  day  with  the  period  predicted. 

42.  A  night  to  be  much  observed.  Heb. 
d^^?2TZ3  ^'i^  I'el  shimmurim,  a  night  of 
observations.     That  is,  a  night  to  be 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


151 


43  ^  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
ses and  Aaron,  Tliis  is  f  the  ordi- 
nance of  the  passover :  there  sliall 
no  stranger  eat  thereof: 

44  But  every  man's  servant  that 
is  boun^ht  for  money,  when  thou 
hast  g  circumcised  him,  then  shall 
he  eat  thereof. 

45  ii  A  foreigner,  and  a  hired  ser- 
vant, siiall  not  eat  thereof. 

46  In  one  house  shall  it  be  eaten ; 
thou  shalt  not  carry  forth  aught  of 
the  flesh  abroad  out  of  the  house : 
i  neither  shall  ye  break  a  bone 
thereof. 

47  kAU  the  congregation  of  Israel 
shall  keep  it. 

{  Numb.  9. 14.  S  Gen.  17.  12,  13.  h  Lev.  22. 
10.  i  Nunib.  9.  12.  John  19.  33,  36.  ^  vex.  6. 
NurtiD.  9.  13. 

accounted  peculiarly  memorable,  bring- 
ing with  it  the  recollection  of  an  event 
never  to  be  forgotten,  and  awakening 
sentiments  of  unfeigned  gratitude  to 
their  Almighty  Deliverer. 

43.  The  Lord  said.  Rather,  'the 
Lord  had  said,'  probably  on  the  same 
occasion  as  that  on  which  he  instituted 
the  Passover  ;  at  any  rate,  at  some  time 
previous  to  the  departure  from  Kgypt. 
IT  There  shall  no  stranger  cat  there- 
of. That  is,  while  he  continues  a 
stranger  or  alien,  unproselyted  and  un- 
circumcised.  By  parity  of  reasoning  it 
^s  10  be  supposed  that  all  who  had  prov- 
ed themselves  apostate  from  their  re- 
ligion were  in  like  manner  to  be  inter- 
dicted. 

45.  A  foreigner.  Iieh.'2''JJ']t^  toshab, 
a  dweller,  an  inhabitant.  This  was  a 
term  applied  to  those  pious  gentiles 
■who,  without  embracing  the  Jewish  re- 
ligion, renounced  idolatry  and  took  up 
their  abode  with  the  cliosen  ])co})lo — 
a  privilege  which  was  not  allowed  to 
foreigners  who  still  continued  idolaters. 
Maimoiiifles  observes  of  such  j^ersons, 
that  they  might  dwell  in  any  part  of  Ju- 
dea  except  Jerusalem,  from  which  they 


4S  And,  when  a  stranger  shall  so- 
journ with  thee,  and  will  keep  the 
passover  to  the  Lord,  let  all  his 
males  be  circumcised,  and  then  let 
him  come  near  and  keep  it ;  and 
he  shall  be  as  one  that  is  born  in 
the  land :  for  no  uncircumcised 
person  shall  eat  thereof. 

49  m  One  law  shall  be  to  him  that 
is  home-born,  and  luito  the  stranger 
that  sojourneth  among  you. 

50  Thus  did  all  the  children  of 
Israel;  as  the  Lord  commanded 
Moses  and  Aaron,  so  did  they. 

51  "  And  it  came  to  pass  the  self- 
same day,  that  the  Lord  did  bring 
the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt  o  by  their  armies. 

1  Numb.  9.  14.  m  Numb.  9.  14.  &  15.  15,  16. 
Gal.  3.  28.    n  ver.  41.    o  ch.  6.  26. 

were  excluded  on  account  of  its  preemi- 
nent sanctity. 

46.  In  one  house  shall  it  be  eaten. 
That  is,  each  paschal  lamb  was  to  be 
eaten  by  the  requisite  company  or  num- 
ber, and  consequently  not  divided  into 
two  or  more  parts  to  be  eaten  in  ditier- 
ent  houses,  but  all  that  ate  of  it  were  to 
eat  together  in  one  house.  This  was 
for  the  sake  of  fellowship,  that  they 
might  rejoice  together,  and  edify  one 
another  while  eating  of  it.  Glial.  'In 
one  society  shall  ye  eat  it.' IT  Nei- 
ther shall  ye  break  a  bone  thereof. 
There  is  something  in  this  precej>t 
which  doubtless  has  a  prospective  refer- 
ence to  Christ  our  Passover,  of  whom 
the  Evangelist  tells  us,  John,  19.  33 — 36, 
that  his  legs  were  ])rovidcntially  pre- 
vented from  being  broken,  in  order  'that 
the  Scriptures  might  be  fullilled,  A  bone 
of  him  shall  not  be  broken.'  So  the 
Psalmist,  Ps.  34.  20.  'He  keepeth  all 
his  bones  ;  not  one  of  them  is  broken.' 

49.  One  law  shall  be  to  him,  &c.  Tlie 
enlarged  and  liberal  spirit  of  llie  He- 
brew system  a])pears  very  strikingly  in 
tliese  regulations.  Any  stranger  miglu 
be  incorporated  into  the  nation  by  con- 


152 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


forming  to  the  rites  of  their  religion, 
iiiul  thereby  become  entitled  to  all  the 
]jrivileges  of  the  native-born  Jew.  In 
ovdvT  to  this,  it  was  jnoper  that  they 
should  make  themselves  debtors  to  the 
law  111  its  burthens,  for  in  God's  econo- 
my/ir/ivVf^es  and  duties  always  go  to- 
gether. The  provision  was  calculated 
at  the  same  time  to  afford  hope  to  the 
Gentile  and  to  moderate  the  self-com- 
]ilacency  of  the  Israelite. 

Remarks. — A  positive  institution  so 
directly  from  heaven,  and  one  so  closely 
connected  by  typical  relations  with  an 
event  of  infinitely  greater  importance, 
as  the  Passover,  may  well  be  supposed 
to  be  fraught  with  a  richness  of  moral 
import  demanding  the  most  serious  at- 
tention. 

1.  Tlie  ordinance  may  be  viewed  in 
reference  to  tlie  d iscrimiiiat hi g  circum- 
stances  in  which  it  was  established. 
God  was  now  about  lo  make  a  terrible 
dis))lay  of  his  righteous  indignation. 
The  destroying  angel  had,  as  it  were, 
received  his  commission,  and  stood  pre- 
]>arod  to  pass  through  Egypt.  But  a 
people  in  covenant  with  the  Lord,  and 
to  whom  his  mercy  was  promised  ;  who 
had  avouched  him  for  their  God,  and 
cried  to  him  for  deliverance,  were  min- 
gled with  the  multitude  of  Egypt ;  and 
amid  the  terrors  of  the  approaching 
desolation,  how  could  they  escape  ? 
Some  mode  must  be  devised  by  which 
^the  angel,  as  he  went  his  midnight 
round  of  death,  might  know  that  the 
Lord  had  put  a  difference  between  the 
Egyptians  and  Israel ;  so  that  while  one 
was  smitten,  the  other  might  be  left  in 
safety.  A  lamb  therefore  was  to  be 
slain  ;  its  blood  to  be  sprinkled  upon 
the  lintels  and  side-posts  of  their  doors  ; 
and  the  Lord  promised  that  when  he 
saw  the  blood,  he  would  stay  the  plague 
from  destroying  tliem.  In  like  manner 
the  sentence  of  death  lias  gone  forth 
against  an  ungodly  world.  But  in  the 
midst  of  its.  condemned  transgressors 
ihere  is  a  covenant  people  whom  he  has 


engaged  to  spare.  How  then  shall  the 
distinction  be  made  between  them  and 
the  careless,  godless  world,  who  mock 
at  and  neglect  the  warnings  and  denun- 
ciations of  heaven  ?  The  Israel  of  God 
is  composed  of  fallen,  guilty  creatures, 
who  are  by  nature  the  children  of  wrath, 
even  as  others.  In  themselves  con- 
sidered they  do  not  deserve  exemption, 
and  are  placed  in  the  pathway  of  the 
divine  anger,  as  the  dwellers  in  Goshen 
would  have  been,  if  they  had  remained 
unmarked  for  safety.  But  lo  !  the  Pas- 
chal Lamb  is  slain  !  The  Lord  Christ 
by  his  one  oblation  of  himself  once 
offered,  makes  a  full,  perfect,  and  suffi- 
cient sacrifice  and  satisfaction  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world.  He  lays  down 
his  life  lor  the  sheep.  They  are  sprin- 
kled by  his  blood,  sealed  by  his  spirit, 
and  interested  by  faith  in  the  blessings 
of  his  covenant.  When  the  Lord  there- 
fore proceeds  to  execute  judgment  upou 
impenitent  transgressors,  he  views  them 
as  they  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  looks  in 
mercy  towards  them,  and  saves  them 
from  eternal  death.  Would  we  avoid 
the  doom? — let  us  have  recourse  to  the 
remedy.  The  blood  of  the  lamb  did 
not  save  the  Israelites  by  being  shed, 
but  by  being  sprinkled.  In  the  same 
manner,  it  is  not  the  blood  of  Christ  as 
shed  on  Calvary,  but  as  sprinkled  on  the 
soul,  that  saves  us  from  the  wrath  to 
come.  We  must,  as  it  were,  dip  the 
hyssop  in  the  blood,  and  by  faith  apply 
it  to  our  own  hearts  and  consciences,  or 
we  can  liave  no  benefit  from  it,  no  in- 
terest in  it. 

2.  We  may  consider  the  essential 
qualities  of  the  victim,  and  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  to  be  treated.  (1.)  It 
was  to  be  a  lamb,  the  most  innocent 
and  gentle  of  all  animals — in  the  idea 
and  language  of  all  nations,  but  another 
name  for  gentleness,  harmlessness,  and 
simplicity.  This  meek  and  unresisting 
creature  was  lo  be  early  removed  from 
its  fond  mother's  side,  deprived  of  lib- 
erty, and  destined  to  bleed  by  the  sacri- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


153 


ficing  knife.  Wlio  can  think  of  its  j)lain- 
tive  bleating  during  the  days  of  separa- 
tion, witliout  oniolion  ?  What  Israel- 
itish  heart  so  insensible  as  not  to  be 
melted  at  the  thought,  that  his  own 
life,  and  the  comfort  of  his  family,  were 
to  cost  the  life  of  that  iiioffensive  little 
creature  whom  he  had  shut  up  for  the 
slaughter,  and  whicli,  in  unsuspecting 
confidence,  licked  the  hand  lifted  to 
shed  its  blood  ?  (2.)  It  was  to  be  a  lamb 
of  the  first  year,  and  without  blemish. 
If  it  bore  the  mark  of  any  deformity, 
or  even  of  any  defect,  it  would  have 
been  a  forbidden  sacrifice,  as  well  as  a 
victim  unfit  to  represent  the  Lamb  slain 
for  sinners  from  the  foundation  of  the 
■world.  How  beautiful  is  the  harmony 
between  the  type  and  the  antitype  ! 
*  We  are  redeemed  with  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb  without 
blemish  and  without  spot.'  (3.)  It  was 
to  be  set  apart  four  days  before  it  was 
slain  ;  not  only  to  mark  the  previous 
designation  of  Christ,  to  be  a  sacrifice, 
but  perhaps  also,  as  has  been  suggested, 
to  foreshow  that  he  should,  during  the 
four  last  day?  of  his  life,  be  examined 
at  different  tribunals  to  ascertain  whe- 
ther there  was  the  smallest  flaw  in  his 
character,  that  so  his  bitterest  enemies 
might  all  be  constrained  to  attest  his 
innocence,  and  thereby  unwittingly  to 
declare,  that  he  was  fit  to  be  a  sacrifice 
for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  (4.) 
When  slain  and  prepared,  the  lamb  was 
to  be  eaten  by  all  the  Israelites  at  the 
same  fime,  and  by  each  party  in  one 
house.  The  victim  was  slain  for  all, 
because  all  were  partners  in  the  same 
danger,  and  all  were  to  be  indebted  to  the 
same  mode  of  deliverance.  And  it  was 
not  to  be  divided  and  carried  to  difler- 
ent  houses,  when  two  households  joined 
in  one  lamb,  in  order  to  keep  up  the 
idea  of  unity  in  the  general  observance 
of  the  ceremony.  The  nation  appears, 
therefore,  in  the  paschal  solemnity  as  a 
beautiful  and  instructive  representation 
of  the  great,  united,  harmonious  family 


of  (iod,  who  are  'one  body,  one  s})irit, 
and  are  called  in  one  hope  of  their  call- 
ing ;'  'who  have  one  Lord,  one  faith, 
one  baptism.' 

3.  We  may  consider  the  attendant  cir- 
cumstances o{  the  institution.  (L)  The 
passover  was  to  be  eaten  with  unleav- 
ened bread  and  bitter  herbs.  The  herbs 
Avere  meant  primarily  to  awaken  tlie 
remembrance  of  the  bitter  bondage  to 
which  they  had  been  subject  in  Egypt  ; 
but  besides  this  they  were  intended  to 
show  the  necessity  of  penitence  fur  sin, 
and  to  shadow  forth  the  hardshijjs  and 
trials  which  await  along  the  chequered 
path  of  the  Lord's  pilgrims  in  their 
journey  to  the  Canaan  of  rest.  And  it 
is  as  impossible  spiritually  to  partake 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Paschal  Lamb  of 
our  salvation,  without  abiding  godly 
sorrow  for  sin,  and  a  sacred  resolve  to 
take  up  our  cross  and  bear  it  cheerfull} 
in  the  trials  of  life,  as  it  is  to  bring 
light  and  darkness,  east  and  west  to- 
gether. Equally  impossible  is  it  to 
partake  of  the  mercies  of  the  Son  of 
God,  while  the  leaven  of  any  iniquity 
is  indulged  and  cherished  within  our 
hearts.  Let  not  Demas  imagine  that 
he  may  embrace  the  world,  and  hold 
the  Savior.  Let  not  Ananias  and  Sap- 
phira  suppose  that  they  may  keep  back 
any  part  of  that  which  they  have  sol- 
emnly dedicated  to  God,  and  yet  be  his 
true  friends  and  servants.  Let  every  one 
that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ,  as  the 
refuge  of  his  soul,  depart  from  iniquity. 
As  the  scrupulous  Israelites  searched 
with  lighted  candles  every  hidden  cor- 
ner and  dark  recess  of  their  houses  for 
any  latent  particle  of  leaven,  so  let  our 
language  be,  'Search  me,  0  God,  and 
know  my  heart ;  try  me,  and  know  my 
thoughts,  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked 
way  in  me,  and  lead  me  in  the  way 
everlasting.'  (2.)  It  was  to  be  eaten 
in  a  standing  posture  with  their  loins 
girded,  their  shoes  on  their  feet,  and 
their  staves  in  their  hands,  ready  to  de- 
part at  a  moment's  warning.     These 


154 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


A 


CIIArTER  XIII. 
ND  the  Lord  spake  unto  Mo- 
ses, saying, 


were  to  them  memorial  circumstances, 
connected  with  the  haste  and  sudden- 
ness of  their  exit.  But  to  us  they  speak 
an  eni])liatic  hmguage  ;  'Arise  ye  and 
de])art,  for  this  is  not  your  rest.'  'Here 
we  have  no  abiding  city,  but  look  for 
one  to  come.'  'Now  we  desire  a  better 
country,  even  an  heavenly.'  'Arise, 
and  let  us  go  hence.'  (3.)  Not  a  bone 
of  the  paschal  lamb  was  to  be  broken. 
The  primary  moral  drift  of  the  injunc- 
tion seems  to  be,  that  what  has  once 
been  oifered  to  God  is  not  to  be  unne- 
cessarily disfigured  or  mangled.  The 
blood  must  be  shed,  for  that  was  the 
seal  of  the  covenant ;  the  flesh  might 
be  eaten  for  it  was  given  for  the  sus- 
tenance of  man's  life  j  but  the  bones 
forming  no  part  either  of  food  or  sacri- 
fice, were  to  be  left  in  their  original 
state  till  consumed  by  fire  with  the  re- 
mainder of  the  flesh,  if  any  remained, 
in  the  morning.  At  the  same  time  we 
cannot  doubt  that  there  was  an  ulterior 
allusion  in  this  commanded  circum- 
stance of  tlie  paschal  rite.  'But  when 
the  soldiers  came  to  Jesus,  and  saw  that 
he  was  dead  already,  they  broke  not  his 
legs.'  It  is  clear  from  what  follows, 
that  the  Evangelist  regarded  the  pre- 
cept ol  the  law  as  a  prophecy  of  Christ ; 
'  For  these  things  are  done  that  the 
Scripture  should  be  fulfilled,  A  bone  of 
him  shall  not  be  broken  ;'  as  if  a  special 
Providence  had  watched  over  the  cruci- 
fixion of  the  Savior  to  secure  his  sacred 
person  from  maiming,  and  thus  bring 
aboui  the  fulfilment  of  the  prediction. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
1.  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses. 
From  v.  15,  it  would  appear  that  this 
precept  was  founded  upon  the  fact  of 
the  preservation  of  Israel's  first-born 
when  the  first-born  of  the  Egyptians 
were  slain.    To  perpetuate  the  remem- 


2  a  Sanctify  unto  me  all  tlie  first- 

iver.  12.  13,  15.  cli.  22.  29,  30.  &.  34.  19. 
Lev.  27.  26.  Numb.  3.  13.  &  8.  16, 17.  &  lb. 
15.  Deut.  15.  19.  huke  2.  23. 


brance  of  that  remarkable  event,  and  in 
token  of  their  gratitude  for  it,  their  first- 
born, in  all  agt«,  were  to  be  consecrated 
to  God  as  his  peculiar  portion,  and  if 
re-appropriated  to  themselves,  it  could 
only  be  done  on  the  ground  of  certain 
redemptions  prescribed  in  v.  13. 

2.  Sanctify  untomc  all  the  first-horn, 
&c.  Let  tliem  be  set  apart,  consecrated, 
hallowed  to  me.  See  the  import  of  the 
term  more  fully  explained  in  the  Note 
on  Gen.  2.  3.  God,  as  the  universal 
Creator,  is  of  course  the  universal  Pro- 
prietor of  all  his  creatures,  and  might 
justly  lay  claim  to  the  most  absolute 
and  unreserved  dedication  o{  all  the  pro- 
geny of  men  and  brutes  to  himself.  But 
in  the  present  case  he  was  pleased  to 
restrict  tliis  more  peculiar  sanctification 
to  tlie  first-born,  as  being  esjiecially  his 
on  the  ground  of  their  protection  and 
exemption  from  the  destroying  judg- 
ment which  had  swept  oft'  the  first-born 
of  the  Egyptians.  As  he  had  in  this  fact 
shown  to  them  a  distinguishing  mercy, 
he  was  pleased  to  make  it  the  occasion 
of  a  standing  acknowledgment  to  that 
eifect  on  the  part  of  his  people.  As  he 
had  spared  their  first-born,  who  were 
the  joy,  the  hope,  and  the  stay  of  their 
families,  so  it  was  fitting,  as  an  evidence 
of  their  grateful  love  to  tlieir  heavenly 
benefactor,  that  they  should  recognise 
as  paramount  his  title  to  what  he  had 
graciously  spared  them,  and  should 
cheerfully  resign  to  him  who  is  First 
and  Best,  what  was  dearest  and  most 
valuable  to  themselves.  And  it  is  by 
this  test  that  we  are  to  determine  the 
measure  of  our  love  to  God.  Does  he 
stand  so  high  in  our  affections  that  we 
are  willing  for  his  sake  to  part  with 
what  we  love  best  in  this  world?  It  is 
only  by  losing  sight  of  all  the  claims  of 
infinite  beneficence,  and  becoming  deaf 
.  to  the  dictates  of  every  tender  and  gen- 


B.  C.  U91.] 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


155 


born,  whatsoever  openeth  the 
womb  amonjT  the  cliildren  of  Is- 
rael, both  ot"  man  and  of  beast:  it 
is  mme. 

3  11  And  Moses  said  unto  the  peo- 
ple, bKemembor  this  day,  in  which 
ye  came  out  from  Egypt,  out  of  the 

•>ch.  12.  42.  Deut.  16.3. 

erous  emotion,  that  we.  can  suffer  our- 
selves to  offer  to  the  Most  High  the 
blind,  the  maimed,  or  the  halt  for  sacri- 
fice, or  lo  serve  him  with  that  which 
costs  us  nothing.  In  accordance  with 
this  character  of  sanctity  pertaining  to 
the  first-born,  the  redeemed  in  heaven 
are  called  '  the  church  of  the  first-born,' 
and  Christ  himself  is  tTie  \first-born 
among  many  brethren.'  We  finci  indeed 
that  at  a  subsequent  period,  Num.  3. 12, 
the  divine  Lawgiver  saw  fit  to  ordain  a 
commutation,  by  which  one  whole  tribe 
out  of  the  twelve  came  into  the  room  of 
the  first-born  of  every  tribe,  as  an  order 
of  priests  to  mmister  to  him  in  holy 
things,  which  was  otherwise  one  of  the 
rights  of  primogeniture  ;  and  at  any 
time  the  privilege  of  redemption  was 
allowed  in  certain  terms,  Num.  18.  15 — 
17 ;  but  neither  of  these  provisions  were 
to  operate  in  such  a  way  as  to  weaken 
the  force  of  the  moral  considerations 
connected  with  the  ordinance. 

3.  Remember  this  day,  &c.  Heb.  ll^T 
zakor,  which  has  the  import  not  mere- 
ly of  mental  recollection,  but  of  actual 
celebration,  or  of  some  kind  of  public 
proceeding  which  should  serve  as  a 
perpetuating  memorial  of  a  particular 
event.  See  Note  on  Ex.  20.  8.  The 
reason  of  this  was  not  merely  the  favor 
shown  to  them  in  such  a  signal  deliver- 
ance, but  the  display  it  involved  of  the 
divine  interposition,  and  obviously  the 
more  of  God  and  of  his  power  there  is  in 
any  deliverance,  the  more  memorable 

it  is. V  Out  oftlte  house  of  bondage. 

Heb.  C""IZ2''  ri'^Z?2  mibbeth  abadim,  out 
of  the  house  of  servants  ;  i.  e.  from  a 
condition  of  the  most  severe  and  de- 


house  of  bondage ;  for  c  by  strength 
of  liand  the  Loud  brought  you  out 
from  this  p/ace :  <^  there  shall  no 
leavened  bread  be  eaten. 

4  e  This  day  came  ye  out,  in  i\\f 
month  Abib. 


Cell.  6.1.    'iih.  12.8. 
18.    Deut.  16.  1. 


1.  23.  15.  &  34 


grading  bondage  ;  for  which  reason  they 
are  said  elsewhere  to  have  been  brouglit 
forth  '  from  the  furnace  of  iron  ;'  Deut. 

4.20.  1  Kings,  8. 51.  Jer.  11.4. V  By 

strength  of  hand,  &c.  Heb.  T^  pTJl^ 
behozck  yad.  As  God  had  previously 
announced  to  Moses,  Ex.  S.  19,  '  I  am 
sure  that  the  king  of  Egypt  will  not  let 
you  go,  no,  not  by  a  strong  hand  (T^Q 
nptn  be  yad  hazakah),'  where  the  ac 
companying  note  shows  that  the  mean- 
ing is,  except  or  unless  by  a  strong  hand. 
As  the  original  term  is  the  same  as  that 
applied  in  several  instances  to  the  hard' 
ening  of  Pharaoh's  heart  (see  Note  on 
Ex.  4,21.),  there  is  a  tacit  antithetical  al- 
lusion  to  that  event,  implying  tliat  how- 
ever ha^d  or  strong  the  impious  king 
made  his  heart,  God  made  his  hand  still 
stronger.  This  is  one  of  those  nice 
shades  of  meaning  which  cannot  well 
be  conveyed  in  a  translation.     See  Note 

on  Ex.   12.  33. IT    There  shall  no 

leavened  bread  be  eaten.  This  mode  of 
rendering  overlooks  the  true  syntactical 
structure  of  the  sentence,  which  is  to 
be  read  thus;  'Remember  this  day  in 
which  ye  came  out  Irom  Egypt,  out  of 
the  house  of  bondage ;  for  by  strength 
of  hand  the  Lord  brought  you  out  of 
this  place  (so)  that  there  should  no  un- 
leavened bread  be  eaten  ;'  i.  e.  under  such 
circumstances  as  gave  rise  lo  the  ordi- 
nance that  no  unleavened  bread  should 
be  eaten. 

4.  In  the  month  Abib.  That  is,  in  tlie 
month  of  green  corn,  which  is  the  true 
import  of  the  word  Abib.  The  Chaldee 
name  of  this  month  was  Nisan,  corres- 
ponding to  j)art  of  our  March  and  part 
of  April.     See  Note  on  Ex.  9.  31.     Gr. 


156 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


5  H  And  it  shall  be  when  the  Lord 
shall  fbrinij  thee  into  the  land  of 
the  Canaanites,  and  llie  Hittiles, 
and  the  Amorites,  and  the  Hivites, 
and  the  Jehusites,  which  he  gsware 
unto  thy  fathers  to  give  thee,  a 
land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey; 
•'  that  thou  shalt  keep  this  service 
in  this  month. 

6  i  Seven  days  shalt  thou  eat  un- 
leavened bread,  and  in  the  seventh 
day  shall  be  a  feast  to  the  Lord. 

7  Unleavened  bread  shall  be  eat- 

f  ch.  3.  8.  S  ch.  6.  8.  h  ch.  12.  25,  26.  >  ch. 
12.  15,  It). 


Vulg.  dial,  and  Sam.  'In  the  month  of 
new  fruits.'  Syr.  'In  the  month  of  flow- 
ers.' Arab.  '  In  the  month  when  corn 
has  ears.' 

5.  When  the  Lord  shall  bring,  &c. 
Provision  is  here  made  for  the  perma- 
nent remembrance  of  the  great  event  of 
the  nation's  exodus  from  Egypt.  The 
present  injunction  prescribes  the  ob- 
servance of  the  rite  after  their  settle- 
ment in  the  land  of  promise,  and  we 
learn  that  they  kept  only  one  passover 
during  their  forty  years  sojourn  in  the 
wilderness.  It  was  omitted  probably 
because  circumcision  was  omitted  dur- 
ing tliat  lime,  which  was  an  indispens- 
able prerequisite  to  the  passover. 

8.  Thou  shalt  shoii:  thy  son,  &c.  The 
most  sedulous  care  in  instructing  their 
children  in  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of 
their  religion,  and  in  the  reasons  on 
which  they  were  founded,  is  frequently 
enjoined  upon  parents  throughout  the 
Mosaic  narrative.  The  Psalmist  also 
speaks  of  it,  Ps.  78.  5—8,  as  a  positive 
institution  among  his  people  ;  '  For  he 
established  a  testimony  in  Jacob,  and 
ap}K)intrd  a  law  in  Israel,  which  he 
commanded  our  fathers,  that  they  should 
make  them  known  to  tlieir  cliildren: 
That  tlie  general  ion  to  come  might  know 
them,  even  the  children  which  should 
he  born  :  who  should  arise  and  declare 
them  to  their  children :  that  they  might 


en  seven  days :  and  there  shall  k  no 
leavened  bread  be  seen  with  thee, 
neither  shall  there  be  leaven  seen 
with  thee  in  all  thy  quarters. 

8  H  And  thou  shaft  J  shew  thy  son 
in  that  day,  saying,  This  is  done 
because  of  that  which  the  Lord  did 
unto  me  Avhen  I  came  forth  out  of 
Egypt. 

9  And  it  shall  be  for  m  a  sign  un- 
to thee  upon  thine  hand,  and  for  a 
memorial  between  thine  eyes;  that 

k  ch.  12.  19.  I  vei.  14.  ch.  12.  26.  m  See 
ver.  16.  ch.  12.  14.  Numb.  15.  39.  Deut.  6 
8.  &  11.  18.  Prov.  1.9.  Isai.  49.  10.  Jer.  22. 
24.     Matt.  23.  5. 


set  their  hope  in  God,  and  not  forget 
the  works  of  God,  but  keep  his  com- 
mandments :  and  might  not  be  as  their 
fathers,  a  stubborn  and  rebellious  gener- 
ation ;  a  generation  that  set  not  their 
heart  aright,  and  whose  spirit  was  not 
steadfast  with  God.'  No  one  can  fail 
to  infer  from  this  the  great  importance 
of  acquainting  children  at  an  early  age 
with  the  leading  stories  of  sacred  writ, 
and  familiarising  their  minds  with  the 
moral  lessons  which  they  are  designed 
to  teach.  It  is  a  debt  which  we  owe  to 
the  honor  of  God  and  to  the  benefit  of 
their  souls,  to  tell  them  of  the  great 
things  which  God  has  in  former  ages, 
or  in  our  own  age,  done  for  his  church, 
or  is  still  doing.  Nor  should  parents 
consider  themselves  released  from  this 
duty  because  their  children  can  read 
these  narratives  for  themselves,  or  hear 
theiTi  recited  and  explained  by  Sunday 
School  teachers.  They  are  things  to 
be  talked  about  in  the  family  circle, 
which  is  the  grand  nursery  of  God's  ap- 
pointment for  the  training  of  the  infant 
mind,  and  where  the  tender  heart  of 
childhood  is  most  easily  to  be  reached. 
9.  It  shall  be  for  a  sign  unto  thee 
upon  thine  hand,  &c.  It  may  be  doubt- 
ed whether  tliis  is  to  be  understood  as  a 
mere  meta))horical  expression  or  as  a  lit- 
eral injunction.  The  Jewish  commen- 
tators are  generally  of  opinion  that  the 


R  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


157 


the  Lord's  law  may  be  in  thy 
mouth :  for  with  a  strong  hand 
hath  the  Lord  brought  thee  out  of 
Egypt. 

10  nThou  shalt  therefore  keep 
this  ordinance  in  his  season  from 
year  to  year. 

11  HAnd  it  shall  be  when  the 
Lord  shall  bring  thee  into  the  land 

nch.  12.  14,24. 

words  of  tlie  precept  concerning  the 
sanctification  of  the  tirst-born  were  to 
be  written  on  shreds  of  Knen  or  parch- 
ment, and  worn  on  their  wrists  and 
foreheads.  These  where  the  'Phylac- 
teries,' or  scrolls  of  parchment,  with 
portions  of  the  law  written  upon  them, 
of  which  our  Savior  speaks,  Mat.  23.  5, 
as  distinguishing,  when  made  uncom- 
monly broad,  the  hypocritical  Scribes 
and  Pharisees.  It  is  not  improbable, 
however,  that  the  precept  here  is  only 
figurative,  implying  that  the  remem- 
brance of  God's  goodness  should  be  con- 
tinually cherished,  that  it  should  no 
more  be  lost  sight  of  than  is  an  object 
appended  to  the  hand  or  hanging  be- 
tween the  eyes.  Thus  Prov,  3.  3,  'Bind 
them  about  thy  neck  ;  write  them  upon 
the  table  of  thine  heart  ;'  i.  e.  have 
them  in  perpetual  remembrance.  That 
this  was  a  proverbial  mode  of  speech 
appears  from  the  following  passages 
among  others.  Hag.  2.  23,  'In  that  day 
will  I  make  thee  as  a  signet ;  for  I  have 
chosen  thee,  saith  the  Lord.'  Cant.  8. 
6,  'Set  me  as  a  seal  upon  thy  heart,  as 
a  seal  upon  thine  arm.'     Comp.  Deut. 

6.  6—9,  v.-ith  Note. 1[  That  the  Lord's 

laic  may  be  in  thy  mouth.  That  is,  that 
it  may  be  familiar  to  thee  ;  that  thou 
mayest  frequently  speak  of  it,  both  in 
order  to  affect  thine  own  heart,  and  to 
instruct  others.    See  Note  on  Josh.  1.8. 

10.  From  year  to  year.  Heb.  Q"i?2'^?D 
n?3"'!^''  mi-yamim  yamimah,  from  days 
onward  to  days.  An  instance  of  the 
frequent  usage  by  wliich  days  is  em. 
ployed  for  years,  particularly  in  the  laa 

Vol.  I  14 


I  of  the  Canaanites,  as  he  sware  unto 
;  thee  and  to  thy  fathers,  and  shall 
give  it  thee; 

I    12  oThat  thou   shalt   set   apart 

I  unto  the  Lord  all  that  openeth  the 

I  matrix ;   and   every   firstling   that 

Cometh  of  a  beast  which  thou  hast, 

the  males  shall  be  the  Lord's. 

o  ver.  2.  ch.  22.  29.  &  34.  19.  Lev.  27.  26. 
Numb.  8.17.  &  18.  15.  Deut.  15.  19.  Ezek. 
44.  30. • 

guage  of  prophecy.  Chal.  'From  time 
to  time.'  This  throws  light  upon  the 
words  of  Dan.  4.  25,  35,  written  also  in 
Chaldaic,  'Seven  tijues  shall  pass  over 
thee  ;'  i.  e.  seven  years. 

11.  And  it  shall  be,  &c.  We  have 
here  a  repetition,  with  some  additional 
circumstances,  of  the  precept  respect- 
ing the  separation  and  dedication  of  the 
first-born  to  God,  after  they  should  have 
become  fixed  in  the  land  of  their  des- 
tined inheritance.  During  their  sojourn 
in  the  desert  the  strict  observance  of 
this  and  some  other  of  their  national 
laws  appears  to  have  been  dispensed 
with. 

12.  Thoushalt  set  apart.  Heb.nin:j>n 
ha-abarta,  thou  shalt  make  to  pass  over; 
i.  e.  from  thine  own  power  and  posses- 
sion  ;  thou  shalt  make  a  transfer  of  it. 
This  term,  therefore,  may  be  consider- 
ed as  explanatory  of  the  term  'sanctify,' 

V.  2. IT  That  openeth  the  matrix. 

The  Hebrew  expression  is  the  same 
with  that  in  v.  2. TT  And  every  first- 
ling. Rather  'even  every  firstling,'  as 
the  precept,  as  here  rej)cated,  has  re- 
spect  primarily  to  the  first-born  of 
beasts,  and  not  of  men.  The  firstlings 
of  clean  beasts,  such  as  calves,  lambs, 
and  kids,  if  males,  were  to  be  dedicated 
to  God,  and  used  in  sacrifice.  These 
were  not  to  be  redeemed.  Their  blood 
must  be  sprinkled  on  the  altar,  and 
their  fat  consumed  U])on  it  ;  while  their 
flesh  belonged  to  the  jiriest,  who  used 
it  as  his  share  of  the  sacrifice.  Num.  18. 
17,  18.  But  the  first  born  of  unclean 
beasts,  as  the  ass's  colt,  for  instance, 


158 


EXODUS. 


[E.  C.  1491. 


13  And  p  every  firstling  of  an  ass 
thou  shah  redeem  with  a  Iamb  ; 
and  if  thtai  wili  not  redeem  it,  then 
ihuu  shah  break  his  neck  :  and  all 
the  tirst-born  of  man  among  thy 
children  4  shall  thou  redeem. 

P  ch.  34.  20.  Numb.  18.  15, 16.  q  Numb.  3. 
46,  47.  &  18.  15,  16. 

though  due  to  God  ia  virtue  of  this  law 
of  con-secration,  yet,  as  they  could  not 
be  ofi'ered  in  sacritice,  were  either  to 
be  redeemed  or  killed.  Comp.  Num. 
18.  15. 

13.  Every  firstling  of  an  ass  thou 
Shalt  redeem  with  a  lai:^h.  Or  with  a 
kid,  as  the  original  equally  signifies. 
This  lamb  or  kid  was  to  be  given  to  the 
Lord  through  the  priest,  Num.  18.  8,  15, 
and  then  the  owner  of  the  ass  might 
appropriate  it  to  his  own  use,  which 
otherwise  he  would  not  be  at  liberty  to 
do.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  spirit 
of  the  law  applied  also  to  other  ani- 
mals, as  the  horse,  the  camel,  &c.,  but 
tlie  ass  alone  is  specified,  because  the 
Israelites  had  scarcely  any  other  beast 
of  burden,  and  if  they  had,  one  species 
would  serve  as  a  representative  of  all 

others. IF  Thou  shall  break  his  neck. 

Heb.  ir;>:l5'  araphto.  The  original  is 
defined  in  the  Lexicon  to  break  Ihe  neck, 
but  it  seems  more  properly  to  express 
the  act  o{  decollation,  or  cutting  off  the 
neck  (i.  e.the  head),  in  which  sense  it 
is  plainly  used,  Deut.  21.  4,  'And  the 
elders  of  that  city  shall  strike  off  the 
heifer^sneck  (It^y  arephu)  there  in  the 
valley.'  Is.  66.  3, 'He  that  sacrificeth 
a  lamb,  as  if  he  cut  off  a  dog\s  neck 
(r)'^>"  oreph)J  The  reason  of  the  law 
■was  undoubtedly  this,  that  whatever 
had  been  once  solemnly  devoted  to  God 
was  ever  after  to  be  considered  as 
clothed  with  such  a  ])eculiar  sanctity 
as  forbade   its  being  ])ut   to  any  other 

use. IT  All  the  first-born  of  man 

among  thy  children  shall  thou  redeem. 
The  law  of  this  redemption  is  more 
specifically  given  Num.  18.  16,  where  it 


14  ^rAnd  it  shall  be  when  thy 
son  asketh  thee  in  time  to  come, 
saying,  Wliat  is  this?  that  thou 
shah  say  unto  him,  ^By  strength 
of  hand  the  Lord  brought  us  out 
from  Egypt,  from  the  house  of 
bondage : 

rch.  12.26.  Deut..6.  20.  .Tosh.4.6,21.  s  ver.  3, 


appears  that  it  was  fixed  at  five  shekels. 
Comp.  also  Num.  3.  46,  47.  The  re- 
demption of  a  child  took  place  when  it 
Avas  a  month  old.  If  it  died  sooner,  the 
parents  were  not  obliged  to  redeem  it 
It  died  as  it  were  to  God,  to  whom  it 
previously  belonged. 

14.  It  shall  be  ichen  thy  son  asketh 
thee,  &c.  Again  the  duty  of  instruct- 
ing children  in  the  import  of  these  sa- 
cred rites  is  inculcated.  It  is  supposed 
that  when  they  saw  all  the  firstlings 
thus  devoted,  they  would  ask  the  mean- 
ing of  it,  and  this  their  parents  were  re- 
quired to  explain  to  them,  teaching 
tliem  that  God's  special  claim  to  their 
first-born  and  all  their  firstlings,  was 
founded  in  his  gracious  preservation  of 
them  from  the  sword  of  the  destroying 
angel.  This  feature  of  the  Mosaic  econ- 
omy was  calculated  to  have  a  power- 
ful practical  elfect  upon  the  eldest  sons 
of  every  family  ;  for  when  they  were 
taught  tliat  they  themselves  had  been 
redeemed  by  their  parents  according  to 
the  divine  appointment,  they  could 
scarcely  fail  to  perceive  that  pjadiar 
obligations  rested  upon  them  it  walk 
worthy  of  that  hallowed  preeminence 
with  which  they  were  invested  in  God's 
estimation.  But  if  this  was  the  im- 
pression produced  by  this  statute  on  the 
minds  of  Jewish  children,  how  should 
Christians  be  atfected  with  the  consider- 
ation, that  they  have  been  redeemed, 
not  v.ith  corruptible  things,  as  silver 
and  gold,  like  the  first-born  of  Israel,  but 
with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of 
a   lamb  without  blemish  and  without 

spot? IT  By  strength  of  hand  the 

Lord  brought  us  out  of  Egypt.    This 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


159 


15  And  it  came  to  pn?s,  when 
Pharaoh  would  hardly  let  us  <^o, 
that  Uhe  Lord  slow  all  the  hrst- 
born  in  the  land  ol"E2;-ypt,  both  the 
tirst-bornof  man,  and  the  lirst-bom 
of  beast :  therefore  I  sacritice  to  the 
Lord  all  that  openeth  the  matrix, 
being- males;  but  all  the  tirst-born 
of  my  children  I  redeem. 

16  And  it  shall  be  for  "a  token 
upon  thy  hand,  and  for  frontlets  be- 

t  ch.  12.  29.     u  ver.  9. 

allusion  to  'the  strong  hand'  by  which 
the  Lord  brought  his  people  out  of 
Egypt  occurs  again  and  again,  in  order 
the  more  to  magnify  the  power  of  God 
by  setting  it  in  contrast  with  the  oppo- 
sition that  was  made  to  it.  To  the 
latest  generations  of  Israel  the  language 
here  cited  was  to  be  used,  and  it  will 
be  observed  that  it  is  a  mode  of  speech 
which  teaches  the  children  to  consider 
whatever  was  done  to  their  fathers  as 
in  effect  done  to  themselves;  they  were 
to  conceive  themselves  as  having  exist- 
ed in  the  persons  of  their  progenitors. 
Accordingly  the  Psalmist  says,  Ps.  66.  6. 
'They  went  through  the  flood  on  foot: 
there  did  we  rejoice  in  him.'  Hos.  12.  4. 
'He  found  him  in  Bethel,  and  there  he 
spake  with  us.'  In  accordance  with  this, 
the  Hebrew  canons  say, '  That  through- 
out all  generations  a  man  is  bound  to 
show  (demean)  himself  as  if  he  in 
person  came  out  from  the  bondage  of 
Egypt,  as  it  is  written.  And  he  brought 
us  out,  &c.  And  for  this  cause  the  holy 
blessed  God  hath  commanded  in  the 
law,  and  then  shall  remember  that  thou 
wast  a  servant,^  Deut.  15.  5. 

15.  When  Pharaoh  would  hardly  let 
us  go.  Heb.  'When  Pharaoh  hardened 
(himself)  against  sending  us  out.' 

16.  It  shall  be  for  a  token  upon  thine 
hand.  This  is  to  be  considered  as  a 
continuation  of  the  instruction  which 
parents  were  to  give  to  their  children, 
and  not  directly  the  words  of  Moses  or 
of  God.    They  were,  after  explaining 


twecn  thine  eyes:  for  by  strength 
of  hand  the  Lord  brought  us  forth 
out  of  Egypt. 

17  11  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
Pharaoh  had  let  the  people  go,  that 
God  led  them  not  Ihrouiih  the  way 
of  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  al- 
though that  was  near;  for  God 
said,  Lest  peradventure  the  peo- 
ple X  repent  when  they  see  war, 
and  ythey  return  to  Egypt: 

xch.  14.  ll,12.Nuriih.  14.  1—4.  y  Ueut.  17. 16. 


the  grounds  of  the  institution  in  ques- 
tion, to  enjoin  upon  them  to  cherish  the 
memory  of  the  great  event  with  the 
most  sacred  tidelity. IT  Frontlets  be- 
tween thine  eyes.  These  were  parch- 
ment labels  containing  several  pas.sages 
of  the  law,  worn  upon  the  forehead  and 
the  left  arm;  called  from  the  Greek 
(pvXaKTripKi  observatories  or  presercaio- 
ries,  from  a  root  signifying  to  kcepj 
guard,  preserve.  A  fuller  account  of 
them  is  given  hereafter.  See  Note  on 
Deut.  6.  8.  The  remark  made  on  v.  9, 
is  applicable  here  also,  viz.  that  nothing 
more  is  necessarily  implied  by  this  lan- 
guage, than  that  they  were  to  have  these 
things  as  familiar  to  their  minds  and 
lips  as  if  they  were  literally  appended 
in  the  form  of  frontlets  and  phylacteries 
to  their  heads  or  arms. 

17.  And  it  came  to  pass,  &c.  As  Pal- 
estine was  the  country  which  formed 
the  final  destination  of  Israel,  and  as 
tliey  were  now  on  their  march  thither, 
we  should  naturally  suppose  that  tlie 
shortest  and  easiest  route  would  have 
been  selected.  This  was  a  route  laying 
along  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean, 
and  forming  to  this  day  the  usual  cara- 
van track  from  Egypt  to  Gaza.  Travel- 
ling by  this  road  they  might  easily  have 
accomplished  the  distance  in  five  days, 
had  infinite  wisdom  no  special  purposes 
to  effect  by  a  longer  delay.  But  the 
nearest  way  to  rest  is  not  always  that 
which  God  sees  to  be  best  for  his  peo- 
ple, and  the  sequel  shows  us  that  in  the 


160 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


present  instance  there  was  ample  reason 
for  a  dei)arlure  from  the  usual  route. 
To  say  nothing  of  the  divine  purposes 
relative  to  the  drowning  of  the  Egypt- 
ians in  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  humbling 
and  proving  of  the  Israelites  by  a  pro- 
tracted sojourn  in  the  wilderness,  they 
could  not  enter  Canaan  by  the  direct 
route  without  encountering  the  Philis- 
tines, who  then  occupied  all  its  south- 
ern borders.  These  Philistines  were  a 
powerful  and  warlike  nation,  between 
whom  and  the  Israelites  there  seems  to 
have  been  an  ancient  grudge  existing, 
from  a  circumstance  mentioned  1  Chron. 
7.  21,  22,  'And  Zabad  his  son,  and  Shu- 
thelah  his  son,  and  Ezer,  and  Elead, 
whom  the  men  of  Gath  (Philistines) 
that  were  born  in  that  land  slew,  be- 
cause they  came  down  to  take  away 
their  cattle.  And  Ephraim,  their  father, 
mourned  many  days,  and  his  brethren 
came  to  comfort  him.'  God  could  in- 
deed with  infinite  ease  have  crushed  all 
opposition  from  this  or  any  other  quar- 
ter, and  have  carried  his  people  tri- 
umphantly through  every  obstacle,  as 
he  had  abundantly  shown  in  bringing 
them  out  of  Egypt.  But  he  saw  fit  to 
make  no  useless  display  of  miraculous 
power,  or  exempt  his  people  from  the 
necessity  of  using  the  ordinary  means 
of  avoiding  danger,  notwithstanding  his 
omnipotence  was  pledged  to  their  de- 
fence. He  therefore  uses  all  the  pre- 
caution of  a  wise  and  provident  leader, 
as  if  a])prehensive  that  his  people,  how- 
ever numerous,  being  but  little  accus- 
tomed to  the  use  of  arms,  and  just 
emerging  from  a  state  of  enervating 
servitude,  would  be  unable,  at  tlie  first 
onset,  to  face  an  active  foe,  and  there- 
fore deemed  it  necessary  to  inure  them 
gradually  to  warlike  exercises  before  ex- 
posing tlieni  to  the  perils  of  battle.  To 
avoid,  therefore,  the  perils  which  were 
to  be  anticijiatcd  in  this  quarter,  Moses 
is  directed  to  take  anotlier  far  more  cir- 
cuitous and  difficult  route  '  by  the  way 
of  the  wilderness  of  the  Red  Sea.'    We 


say  that  Moses  was  directed  in  this,  for 
the  circumstances  clearly  evince  that  he 
could  have  been  no  self-appointed  law- 
giver, leading  forth  the  Israelites  from 
Egypt  of  his  own  motion,  but  that  he  all 
along  acted  under  divine  dictation  and 
control.  Bad  as  the  alternative  was  of 
passing  through  the  territories  of  the 
Philistines,  yet  in  the  eye  of  mere  hu- 
man prudence,  the  other  was  scarcely 
more  feasible.  Moses  had  long  fed  the 
flocks  of  Jethro  in  that  very  desert,  and 
he  must  have  been  well  aware  that  it 
afforded  no  resources  for  the  subsistence 
of  such  a  vast  host  of  men,  women,  and 
children,  and  cattle,  as  he  was  now  lead- 
ing thither.  Had  he  not  then  been  act- 
ing under  a  divine  commission,  we  can 
see  that  he  had  merely  a  choice  of  diffi- 
culties both  apparently  insurmountable ; 
on  the  one  hand,  war,  without  any  rea- 
sonable prospect  of  success ;  on  the 
other,  starvation  in  the  desert.  With 
this  alternative  before  him,  would  not 
any  worldly  politician  have  preferred 
fighting  to  starving?  At  any  rate,  how 
can  it  be  imagined  that  if  Moses  pos- 
sessed one  half  the  talent  which  his 
enemies  concede  to  him,  he  could  have 
entertained  such  a  project  as  that  of  con- 
ducting the  Israelites  out  of  Egypt,  wdth 
out  previously  well  considering  whither 
he  would  lead  them?  Nothing  aflfords  a 
solution  of  the  course  which  he  took  on 
this  occasion  but  the  fact  that  he  was 
supernaturally  directed  in  every  move- 
ment, and  with  this  key  to  his  conduct 
all  his  plain.  It  was  God's  wall  that 
the  Red  Sea  route  should  be  taken,  be- 
cause he  foresaw  that  if  the  other  were 
taken,  the  Israelites  instead  of  stamding 
the  shock  of  war  would  have  retreated 
ignominiously  before  the  enemy,  and 
have  sought  refuge  in  that  very  bond- 
age from  which  they  had  so  recently 
escaped,  and  by  which  they  had  become 
so  unfitted  for  warlike  encounters.  The 
hard  bondage  in  mortar  and  brick,  and 
in  all  manner  of  rigorous  and  degrading 
service  in  the  field,  was  not  the  school 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


161 


18  But  God  z  led  the  people  about, 
through  the  way  of  the  wilderness 

zch.  11.  2.     Nniiib.  33.  6,  &r. 

m  which  the  lessons  of  ardent  courage 
and  overcoming  enterprise  were  to  be 
learned.  Slavery  necessarily  and  fear- 
fully debases  the  mind,  and  makes  it  in- 
capable of  great  or  noble  exertion.  The 
iron  of  such  a  state  had  entered  deeply 
into  the  souls,  no  less  than  it  painfully 
galled  the  limbs,  of  the  Isrnelites.  That 
the  result  would  have  been  precisely 
what  is  here  intimated,  no  one  can  doubt 
who  considers  what  the  fact  actually  u-as 
when  their  spirit  came  to  be  put  to  the 
test  at  the  subsequent  periods  of  their 
history.  The  report  of  the  faithless 
spies  threw  them  into  a  panic  of  fear, 
and  prompted  them  to  cry  out,  'Would 
God  that  we  had  died  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  or  would  God  tlmt  we  had  died 
in  this  wilderness.'  Tnus  too  when  the 
armies  of  Pliaraoh  pursued  them  and 
the  Red  Sea  lay  before  them,  they  ex- 
claimrd  in  an  agony  of  alarm,  'Is  not 
this  the  word  that  we  did  tell  thee  in 
Egypt  saying,  Let  us  alone  that  we  may 
serve  the  Egyptians.'  So  also  on  ex- 
periencing the  first  pres.snre  of  want, 
they  cried,  'Would  that  we  had  died  by 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of 
Egj'pt,  when  we  sat  by  the  flesh-pots, 
and  when  we  did  eat  bread  to  the  full.' 
These  then  were  not  combatants  who 
could  be  depended  upon  to  open  for 
themselves  a  way  through  the  armies 
of  the  Philistines,  and  God  who  knew 
the  frame  of  their  spirits  much  better 
than  they  did  themselves,  graciously 
sj)ared  th^ m  a  conflict  to  which  lie  saw 
they  were  unequal.  In  like  manner  the 
infinitely  wise  and  gracious  God  con- 
sults the  weakness  of  his  people  in  the 
earlier  stages  of  their  Christian  course, 
and  spares  them  the  trials  and  contests 
which  v/ould  be  too  much  for  them. 
His  mercy  tempers  their  burdens  to 
thfir  strength,  and  (rradxiaUy  accustoms 
his  soldiers  and  servants  to  the  difli- 
14* 


of  the  Red  sea:  and  the  children 
of  Israel  went  up  harnessed  out  of 
the  land  of  Ei^j,  pt. 

culties  of  their  warfare.  They  are  first 
trained  to  contend  with  weaker  ene- 
mies before  they  are  called  to  encount- 
er stronger  ones,  and  by  having  their 
graces  exercised  rather  than  oppressed, 
they  are  enabled  to  go  on  from  strengtli 
to  strength,  till  they  are  linally  qualilifd 
to  wield  tlie  whole  armor  of  Gud.  lii  liie 
mean  time  he  who  will  not  over-drive 
the  tender  iambs  lest  they  should  die 
of  fatigue,  expressly  assures  us  that  he 
will  not  sufi'er  us  to  be  tempted  above 
that  we  are  able  to  bear,  and  that  as  our 
day  is  so  shall  our  strength  be  also. 

18.  The  Red  Sea.  As  this  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  waters  mentioned 
in  the  geography  of  the  Scriptures,  it 
may  be  projjer  here  to  give  a  more  par- 
ticular description  of  its  general  fea- 
tures. This  we  do  in  the  words  of  the 
Editor  of  the  Pict.  Bible.  '  It  occupies 
a  basin,  in  general  deep  and  rocky,  and 
extendi  about  1 160  miles  in  lengtii,  from 
north  to  south,  with  a  mean  breadth 
which  may  be  stated  at  120  miles. 
Throughout  this  great  extent  it  does 
not  receive  the  waters  of  a  single  river. 
The  western  coast  is  of  a  bolder  charac- 
ter, and  has  a  greater  depth  of  water 
than  the  eastern.  The  gulf  abounds  in 
sunken  rocks,  sand-banks,  and  small 
islands,  together  with  numerous  coral- 
reefs,  wliich  in  some  places  rise  above 
the  water  to  the  height  of  ten  lathoms. 
The  bottom  is  covered  abundantly  with 
the  same  substance,  as  well  as  with  ma- 
rine plants,  which  in  calm  weather  give 
that  appearance  of  submarine  forests 
and  verdant  meadows  to  which  the  sea 
probably  owes  its  Hebrew  name  of  Yam 
Su])h  (see  Note  on  chap.  2.  3.),  as  well 
as  its  present  Arab  name  of  Bahr  Souf* 
Burckhardt  observes,  that  the  coral  is 
red  in  the  inlet  of  Akaba,  and  white  in 
that  of  Suez.  The  remarkably  beauti- 
ful appearance  which  this  sea  exhibits 


162 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  149] 


has  attracted  notice  in  all  ages;  and 
amoni^  its  other  characteristics,  the  far 
more  than  ordinary  phosphorescence  of 
its  waters  has  been  mentioned  with  pe- 
culiar admiration.  The  width  of  the 
gulf  contracts  towards  its  extremities, 
and  at  its  mouth  is  considerably  nar- 
rower than  in  any  other  part.  The 
strait  of  Bab-el-Mandeb  is  there  form- 
ed, and  does  not  exceed  fourteen  miles 
in  breadth  ;  beside  which  it  is  divided, 
at  the  distance  of  three  miles  from  the 
Arabian  shore,  by  the  island  of  Perim. 
The  high  land  of  Africa  and  the  peak 
of  Azab  give  a  remarkably  bold  appear- 
ance to  the  shore  in  this  part.  At  its 
northern  extremity  the  Red  Sea  sepa- 
rates into  two  minor  gulfs  or  inlets, 
which  inclose  between  them  the  penin- 
sula of  Sinai.  The  easternmost  of  these 
is  that  of  Akaba  or  Ailah,  called  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  vElanites ;  this  is 
only  about  half  the  extent  of  the  other, 
and  is  rendered  very  dangerous  by  shoals 
and  coral-reefs.  The  westernmost  gulf 
is  called  the  gulf  of  Suez,  anciently, 
Heeropolites :  the  ancient  and  modern 
names  of  both  inlets  being  from  towns 
that  formerly  did,  or  do  now,  stand  at 
their  extremities.  It  is  the  latter,  the 
western  gulf,  which  was  crossed  by 
the  Hebrews.  It  is  about  160  miles  in 
length,  with  a  mean  breadth  of  about 
thirty  miles,  narrowing  very  much  at  its 
northern  extremity.  The  mean  depth 
of  its  water  is  from  nine  to  fourteen 
fathoms,  with  a  sandy  bottom  ;  and  it  is 
of  much  safer  navigation  than  the  other. 
There  are  many  indications  which  place 
it  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  Arabian  Gulf 
was  formerly  much  more  extensive  and 
deeper  than  at  ])rcsent.  One  of  the 
most  certain  jiroofs  of  this  is,  that  ci- 
ties, wliicli  were  formerly  mentioned  as 
sea-ports,  are  now  considerably  inland. 
This  is  particularly  the  case  in  the  Gulf 
of  Suez,  where  the  shore  is  unusually 
low.  That  the  sea  formerly  extended 
more  northward  than  at  present,  there 
is  much  reason  to  conclude,  not  only 


from  the  marine  appearances  of  the 
now  dry  soil,  but  from  this  fact,  among 
others,  that  Kolsoum,  which  was  form- 
erly a  port,  is  now  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  inland.  There  is  certainly  nothing 
in  the  appearance  of  the  soil  about  the 
isthmus  of  Suez  to  discountenance  the 
hypothesis  that  the  Red  Sea  was  form- 
erly no  other  than  a  strait  unitijig  the 
Mediterranean  with  the  Indian  Ocean  ; 
and  that  the  isthmus  which  is  now  in- 
terposed between  the  Red  Sea  and  the 
Mediterranean  was  formed  by  drifts  of 
sand  from  the  adjoining  deserts.  This, 
however,  is  an  hypothesis :  but  there  is 
nothing  hypothetical  in  the  statement 
that  the  gulf  once  extended  more  to  the 
north  than  at  present  ;  and  this  fact  is 
of  importance,  because  it  enables  us  to 
see  that  nothing  less  than  a  miraculous 
interposition  of  the  Divine  Power  could 
have  enabled  the  Israelites  to  cross  the 
bay  even  at  the  highest  of  the  points 
which  has  been  selected  by  those  who 
perhaps  were  influenced  by  the  wish  to 
diminish  the  force  of  the  miracle,  or  to 
account  for  it  on  natural  prmciples.'— — 
IT  Went  up  harnessed.  Heb.  C^'^'l^n 
hamushim.  Marg.  'By  five  in  a  rank.' 
But  this  cannot  well  be  considered  the 
true  rendering,  for  at  this  rate  if  we 
allow  the  ranks  to  be  but  three  feet 
asunder,  the  600,000  fighting  men  alone 
w^ould  have  formed  a  procession  sixty 
miles  in  length  ;  and  if  we  add  to  them 
the  remainder  of  the  host,  the  line  would 
have  extended,  by  the  direct  route,  from 
Egypt  quite  into  the  limits  of  the  land 
of  Canaan.  The  Greek  renders  it,  *  in 
the  fifth  generation ;'  but  plainly  er- 
roneously, as  the  promise  to  Abraham, 
Gen.  15.  16,  was,  that  they  should  come 
out  in  ihc  fourth  generation.  Other  ver- 
sions render  it  diversely  by  'marching 
in  array' — 'in  military  order' — 'armed' 
— 'well  panoplied' — 'girded' — 'marshal- 
ed by  fives' — 'by  fifties,'  &c.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  the  original  Hebrew  term  in- 
volves the  sense  of 'five,'  but  upon  what 
circumstance  the  allusion  is  founded  it 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


163 


19  And  Moses  took  the  bones  of 
Joseph  with  him  :  for  he  had  strait- 
ly  sworn  the  children  of  Israel,  say- 
ins^,  «(Tod  will  surely  visit  you; 
and  ye  shall  carry  up  my  bones 
away  hence  with  you. 

20  "II  And  b  they  took  their  jour- 

a  Gen.  50.  25.  Josh.  24.  32.  Acts  7.  16. 
bNumb.  33.6. 

is  extremely  diflicult  to  determine.  Per- 
haps the  most  probable  supposition  is 
that  it  includes  both  the  import  of  their 
being  in  some  way  arranged  into  five 
grand  divisions  or  squadrons,  and  of 
their  being  well  appointed  and  equipped 
for  expedite  travelling,  going  forth  not 
in  a  confused  and  tumultuary  manner 
like  timorous  fugitives,  but  every  one 
duly  trussed  and  girded  up  so  as  to 
cause  no  imptHiimcnt  to  others,  and  the 
whole  body  moving  on  in  the  style  of 
an  orderly  and  well  marshalled  army. 
When  viewed  in  this  aspect  the  specta- 
cle must  have  been  most  imposing,  and 
we  can  see  with  what  peculiar  propriety 
it  is  said,  that  Israel  went  out  xcith  a 
high  hand. 

19.  Moses  took  the  bones  of  Joseph 
unth  him.  Joseph  had  expressly  order- 
ed. Gen.  50.  2.5,  26,  that  his  bones  should 
be  carried  up  from  Egypt  when  God 
should  visit  them,  and  their  doing  it 
now  was  not  only  a  performance  of  the 
oath  sworn  by  tlicir  fathers  to  Joseph, 
but  an  acknowledgment  of  God's  faith- 
ful accomplishment  of  his  promises. 
From  the  speech  of  Stephen,  Acts,  7. 
16,  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  the  bones  of 
all  the  rest  of  the  patriarchs  were  also 
at  this  time  conveyed  out  of  Egypt ; 
each  tribe,  doubtless,  taking  charge  of 
the  bones  of  its  own  patriarch. 

20.  Encamped  in  Etham  in  the  edge 
of  the  unlderness.  We  are  not  perhaps 
to  suppose  either  in  this  or  many  other 
cases,  that  the  places  which  are  named 
are  the  only  places  at  which  they  rest- 
ed. In  the  j^rf'sent  instance,  if  Succoth 
were  about  half  way  between  Ramescs 
and  Suez,  the  second  stage  of  their  jour- 


ney from  Succoth,  and  encamped 
in  Etham,  in  the  edge  of  the  wil- 
derness. 
21  And  cthe  Lord  went  before 
them  by  day  in  a  pillar  of  a  cloud, 

c  ch.  It.  I'J,  24.  <fe  40.  38.  Numb.  9,  15.  & 
10.  34.  &  11.  14.  Deut.  1.  33.  Neh.  'J.  12,  l'.>. 
Fs.  78.  14.  &  yy.  7.  &  105.  3'J.  l.sai.  4.  5. 
1  Cor.  10,  1. 


ney  must  have  been  at  least  forty  miles, 
wliich  is  certainly  too  much  to  be  ac- 
complished in  one  day  by  such  an  im- 
mense cavalcade  as  that  of  the  Israel- 
ites. Twenty  miles  a  day  for  them 
would  be  severe  driving.  As  the  coun- 
try was  a  desert,  travelling  would  be 
hard  ;  hours  of  refreshment  and  repose 
were  needed  ;  the  beasts  must  have  had 
time  to  collect  their  food  from  the  grass 
and  shrubs  of  the  desert ;  and  many  of 
them  being  heavily  burdened,  they  could 
move  only,  when  they  did  move,  with 
great  slowness.  With  these  consider- 
ations before  us,  we  may  perhaps  safely 
infer  that  Etham  was  the  third  rather 
than  the  second  encampment.  The 
halting  places  of  caravans  are,  in  these 
desert  regions,  so  much  determined  by 
the  presence  of  wells,  that  in  connexion 
with  the  circumstance  of  its  being  situ- 
ated on  the  *  edge  of  the  wilderness,' 
there  is  not  much  difficulty  in  conclud- 
ing that  Etham  is  the  same  place  as 
the  modern  Adjeroud,  which  forms  the 
third  stage  of  the  pilgrim's  caravan  to 
Mecca,  and  where  tliere  is  an  old  for- 
tress, a  small  village,  and  a  copious 
well  of  inditi'erent  water.  This  place 
is  about  eleven  miles  to  the  north-west 
of  Suez,  and  is,  in  fact,  near  to  tlie  'edge' 
of  the  wilderness,  which  extends  around 
the  north-eastern  and  eastern  side  of 
the  Gulf  of  Suez.  The  journey  to  this 
point  had  been  almost  entirely  over  a 
desert,  the  surface  of  which  is  com- 
posed of  hard  gravel,  often  strewed  with 
pebbles. 

21.  The  Lord  ivent  before  them  by 
day  in  a  pillar  of  a  chmd,  &c.  Heb. 
"^5  "niS^!!  be-ammud  anan.    The  orig- 


164 


EXODUS. 


[E.  C.  1491. 


to  lend  ihem  the  Avay;  and  by  night 
in  a  piUar  of  lire,  togive  them  light: 
to  go  by  day  and  night. 


inal  comes  from  the  root  1'^^  amad,  to 
stand,  and  imports,  undoubtedly,  an  up- 
right standing  mass  of  clouci,  resem- 
bling a  column  or  pillar  in  a  building, 
it  being  ihc  same  term  as  that  employed 
in  reference  to  the  two  supporting  pil- 
lars  of  the  edilice  overthrown  by  Sam- 
son. Still  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
this  resemblance  was  very  exact,  for  as 
it  appears  from  Ps.  105.  39,  that  it  was 
spread  out  at  the  base  so  as  to  cover  as 
with  a  canopy  the  whole  host  of  Israel, 
shading  them  from  the  intense  heat  of 
the  sun,  the  height  of  the  pillar,  if  it 
bore  any  proportion  to  such  a  base,  must 
have  been  immense,  as  an  encampment 
for  2,400,000  men  would  require  a  space 
of  ground  of  nearly  twelve  miles  square. 
We  imagine,  therefore,  that  in  external 
appearance  it  approached  near  to  the 
form  of  an  ascending  column  of  smoke, 
with  a  widely  extended  base,  and  shoot- 
ing up  to  an  inconceivable  height  in  the 
heavens.  Some  have  supposed  that  the 
pillar  of  cloud  and  the  pillar  of  fire 
were  two  distinct  pillars,  but  the  hypo- 
thesis is  scarcely  necessary;  one  might 
have  answered  both  purposes.  This 
pillar-cloud  was  a  striking  emblem  of 
the  divine  protection  and  guidance  to 
the  chosen  people  in  their  sojournings, 
and  we  find  very  significant  allusions 
to  it  in  the  following  passages.  Is.  4.  5, 
6,  'For  tlie  Lord  will  create  upon  every 
dwelling-place  of  Moimt  Zion  and  upon 
her  assemblies  a  cloud  and  smoke  by 
day,  and  rlie  shining  of  a  flaming  fire 
by  niglit;  for  upon  all  the  glory  there 
shall  be  a  defence.  And  there  siiall  be 
a  tabernacle  for  a  shadow  in  the  day- 
time from  tlie  heat,  and  a  place  of  refuge 
and  for  a  covert  from  storm  and  from 
rain.'  This  predicts  the  same  favored 
period  of  t-he  church  with  that  described 
by  the  inspired  writer.  Rev.  7.  15,  16, 
'And  he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall 


22  He  took  not  away  the  pillar 
of  the  cloud  by  day,  nor  the  pillar  of 
lire  by  night,y/-om  before  the  people. 


dwell  among  them.  They  shall  hunger 
no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more  ;  nei- 
ther shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor 
any  heat  ;'  i.  e.  they  shall  have  the 
symbols  of  the  divine  presence  with 
them  as  the  Israelites  had  in  the  wil- 
derness, only  in  a  far  more  glorious  man- 
ner ;  and  while  they  shall  be  shadowed, 
as  were  the  chosen  people,  from  the 
burning  rays  of  the  sun,  they  shall  be 
exempted  from  their  privations ;  they 
shall  not  complain  of  hunger  or  thirst. 
It  is  evident  that  this  cloudy  pillar  was 
the  seat  or  habitation  of  the  divine  pres- 
ence, and  therefore,  in  one  sense,  his 
throne,  from  which  oracles  were  given 
forth  to  the  people.     See  Deut.  31.  15. 


Remarks  on  the  Pillar  of  Cloud. 

Under  the  strong  conviction  that  this 
extraordinary  phenomenon  has  not  hith- 
erto been  duly  appreciated  as  a  visible 
symbol  of  the  Divine  Presence,  we  are 
induced  to  add  some  remarks  upon  the 
purposes  which,  in  that  character,  it 
was  designed  to  answer.  Of  its  uses  as 
a  guiding  signal  to  the  chosen  tribes  in 
their  march  through  the  wilderness,  we 
have,  both  here  and  elsewhere,  the 
clearest  intimations.  Thus,  Ps.  78.  14, 
'In  the  day-time  also  he  led  them  with 
a  cloud,  and  all  the  night  with  a  light 
of  fire.'  So  also  Neh.  9.  12,  'Moreover 
thou  leddest  them  in  the  day  by  a  cloudy 
pillar ;  and  in  the  night  by  a  pillar  of 
fire,  to  give  them  light  in  the  way  where- 
in they  should  go.'  In  what  particular 
manner  this  twofold  office  of  a  pillar  of 
cloud  by  day  and  of  fire  by  night,  could 
be  performed  hy  one  and  the  same  aerial 
column,  is  not  entirely  obvious.  Whe- 
ther the  whole  mass  of  cloud  which 


B.  C.  149i.J 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


1G5 


i  was  opaque  by  day  bocamp  luminous  by 

night ;  or  whether  there  was  a  rending  at 
night  of  the  outer  dark  body  of  the  cloud 
and  the  consequent  disclosure  of  an  inte- 
rior splendor,  which  was  enveloj)ed  and 
concealed  from  view  during  the  day,  has 
never  been  satisfactorilj'^  determined. 
We  are  inclined  on  the  whole  to  adopt 
the  latter  opinion,  not  only  because  it 
strikes  us  as  atFording  a  more  easy  and 
consistent  interpretation  of  the  letter  of 
various  passages  in  which  it  is  spoken 
of,  but  also  because  it  harmonises  bet- 
ter with  what  we  conceive  to  have  been 
the  substance  of  this  sublime  symbolical 
shadow  ;  on  both  which  points  we  shall 
be  more  full  in  our  subsequent  ^mota- 
tions.  This  inwrapped  inner  splendor, 
which  appeared  at  night,  we  suppose  to 
have  been  that  which  is  more  appropri- 
ately termed  'the  Glory  of  the  Lord,' 
and  this  'Glory'  is  said  occasionally  to 
have  appeared  in  the  day  time,  particu- 
larly when  God  would  convey  to  his 
people  an  expression  of  his  displeasure 
on  account  of  their  transgressions,  or 
when  he  would  strike  them  with  a  trem- 
bling awe  of  his  majesty,  as  at  the  giv- 
ing of  the  Law  from  Sinai,  where  the 
Glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  as  a  devour- 
ing fire  on  the  summit  of  the  mount. 
Comp.  Ex.  16.  10.  Num.  16.  42.  In  like 
manner  it  appears  that  when  the  two 
sons  of  Aaron,  Nabab  and  Abihu,  of- 
fended by  strange  fire  in  their  offerings, 
a  fatal  flash  from  the  cloudy  pillar  in- 
stantaneously extinguished  their  lives. 
We  cannot  doubt,  therefore,  that  this 
majestic  pillar  of  cloud  was  intended  to 
serve  as  the  Shekinah,  or  visible  repre- 
sentative of  Jehovah,  dwelling  in  the 
midst  of  the  chosen  people. 

This,  if  we  mistake  not,  will  be 
placed  still  farther  beyond  the  reach  of 
question,  upon  considering  the  names 
by  which  it  is  designated.  In  the  pas- 
sage before  us,  ch.  13.  21,  instead  of  the 
phraseology  of  the  text,  'the  Lord  went 
before  them,'  the  Targ.  Jon.  has,  'The 
Glory  of  the  Shekinah  went  before  them.' 


The  Arab.  'The  Angel  of  the  Lord  went 
before  them.'  This  latter  mode  of  rend- 
ering is  to  be  especially  noticed,  as 
we  shall  find  it  confirmed  by  the  sa- 
cred writer  himself,  Ex.  14.  19,  'And 
the  angel  of  God  which  w^ent  before 
the  camp  of  Israel,  removed,  and  went 
behind  them  ;  and  the  pillar  of  cloud 
went  from  before  their  face  and  stood 
behind  them.'  Here  it  is  evident  that 
that  which  in  one  clause  of  the  verse 
is  called  the  '  pillar  of  the  cloud,'  is 
in  another  called  the  '  angel  of  God.' 
The  grounds  of  this  phraseology  we 
have  already  explained  in  tlie  Note  on 
Ex.  3.  2,  from  which  it  appears  that  the 
term  'Angel'  is  employed  to  denote  any 
kind  of  agency,  personal  or  impersonal, 
by  which  the  divine  will  or  working  is 
made  manifest.  Accordingly,  as  the 
visible  phenomenon  of  the  burning  bush 
is  called  the  'angel  of  the  Lord,'  which 
was  on  that  occasion  but  another  name 
for  the  Shekinah,  so  we  find  the  Sheki- 
nah again  under  another  aspect,  viz. 
that  of  the  cloudy  pillar,  expressly  call- 
ed by  the  same  designation,  Ex.  23. 
20—23,  'Behold,  I  send  an  Angel  before 
thee,  to  keep  thee  in  the  way,  and  to 
bring  thee  into  the  place  which  I  have 
prepared.  Beware  of  him,  and  obey 
his  voice,  provoke  him  not ;  for  he  will 
not  pardon  your  transgressions  :  for  my 
name  is  in  him.  But  if  thou  shalt  in- 
deed obey  his  voice,  and  do  all  that  I 
speak  ;  then  I  will  be  an  enemy  unto 
thine  enemies,  and  an  adversary  unto 
thine  adversaries.  For  mine  Angel  shall 
go  before  thee,  and  bring  thee  in  unto 
the  Amorites,  and  the  Ilittites,  and  the 
Perizzites,  and  the  Canaanites,  and  the 
Hivites,  and  the  Jebusites  ;  and  I  will 
cut  them  off.'  This  Angel,  we  cannot 
question,  was  the  visible  Shekmah  in 
the  pillar  of  cloud  ;  and  it  is  to  the 
same  manifested  personage  that  allu- 
sion is  had  in  what  is  said.  Is.  63.  8,  9, 
of  the  'Angel  of  the  divine  ])resence,' 
who  was  afflicted  in  all  the  affliction  of 
his  people,  and  who  in  his  love  and  m 


166 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


his  pity  redeemed  them,  bearing  and 
carrying  them  all  the  days  of  old. 
Again,  the  allusion  is  the  same,  Mai. 
3.  ],  'Behold,  I  will  send  my  messen- 
ger, and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  be- 
fore me  :  and  the  Lord,  whom  ye  seek, 
shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple,  even 
the  messenger  (i.  e.  the  Angel)  of  the 
covenant,  whom  ye  delight  in  :  behold, 
he  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.' 
Here  it  is  clear  that  the  'Lord'  and  the 
'Angel  of  the  covenant'  are  identical, 
and  no  one  doubts  that  this  is  a  predic- 
tion of  the  coming  of  Christ  heralded 
by  John  the  Baptist.  Consequently, 
Christ  of  the  New  Testament,  and  the 
'Angel'  or  'Jehovah'  of  the  Old,  are  one 
and  the  same.  But  to  return  to  the 
passage  last  quoted  from  Exodus,  as 
the  'name'  of  God  is  but  another  term 
for  his  nature,  the  import  is,  that  the 
divine  nature,  that  is,  the  divine  power, 
efficacy,  authority,  majesty,  and  om- 
niscience would  be  associated  with  the 
external  visible  symbol.  To  all  prac- 
tical purposes,  therefore,  this  cloudy 
pillar  was  to  them  the  'Angel- Jeho- 
vah,' the  God  of  their  nation,  and  they 
were  to  look  up  to  that  sublime  and 
awful  column  as  a  visible  embodiment 
of  their  covenant  God,  as  an  ever  pres- 
ent witness,  and  feel  as  if  a  thousand 
eyes  were  peering  out  of  the  midst  of  it 
upon  them,  from  which  not  even  their 
slightest  word  or  deed  could  be  hidden. 
Indeed  this  view  of  the  cloudy  pillar  as 
a  kind  of  watch-tower  of  the  Almighty, 
an  aerial  Mizpeh,  or 'place  of  espial,'  is 
expressly  recognised  in  the  remarkable 
passage,  Ex.  14.  24,  25,  'And  it  came  to 
pass,  that  in  tlie  morning-watch  the 
Lord  looked  unto  the  host  of  the  Egyp- 
tians through  the  pillar  of  fire  and  of 
the  cloud,  and  troubled  the  host  of  the 
Egyi'tians,  and  took  off  their  chariot- 
wheels,  that  they  drave  them  heavily  ; 
so  that  the  Egyptians  said.  Let  us  flee 
from  the  face  of  Israel  ;  for  the  Lord 
fighteth  for  them  against  the  Egyptians.' 
We  shall  hereafter  have  occasion   to 


notice,  throughout  the  whole  tenor  of 
the  Mosaic  narrative,  that  this  won- 
drous symbol  is  the  very  object  which 
is  to  be  understood,  in  innumerable  in- 
stances, by  the  title  'Lord'  (Jehovah), 
to  which  'Angel  of  the  Lord,'  or  ra- 
ther 'Angel-Jehovah'  is  perfectly  tanta- 
mount. This  is  plainly  the  idea  con- 
veyed by  the  language  of  the  text  which 
has  given  rise  to  these  remarks  ;  'The 
Lord  went  before  them  in  a  pillar  of 
cloud,'  &c.,  where  we  do  not  perceive 
that  to  the  minds  of  the  ancient  readers 
of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  the  term  'Lord' 
would  convey  any  other  idea  than  that 
of  the  visible  phenomenon  by,  in,  and 
through  which  the  divine  attributes  werg 
manifested.  So  again  Deut.  1.  32,  33, 
'Yet  in  this  thing  ye  did  not  believe 
the  Lord  your  God,  who  went  in  the 
way  before  you,  to  search  you  out  a 
place  to  pitch  your  tents  in,  in  fire  by 
night,  to  show  you  by  what  way  ye 
should  go,  and  in  a  cloud  by  day.'  It 
was  this  visible  Deity  which  was  in- 
tended in  all  such  phrases  as  'before  the 
Lord,'  'from  the  Lord,'  'unto  the  Lord,' 
&c.,  where  the  circumstances  compel 
us  to  affix  somewhat  of  a  local  idea  to 
the  expression. 

But  another  important  view  of  the 
subject  is  afforded  by  the  fact,  that  it 
was  this  visible  symbol  of  Jehovah 
which  was  the  oracle  of  the  chosen  peo- 
ple. It  was  the  Shekinah,  the  Glory, 
enthroned  in  the  pillar  of  cloud,  but 
afterwards  removed  into  the  most  holy 
place  of  the  tabernacle  and  temple, 
which  issued  commands  and  delivered 
responses  to  the  congregation.  Thus 
Ps.  99.  6,  7,  'They  called  upon  the  Lord, 
and  he  answered  them.  He  spake  unto 
them  in  the  cloudy  pillar.'  A  still  more 
remarkable  passage  to  the  same  effect 
occurs  Ex.  33.  9 — 11,  which  we  give  with 
the  omission  of  the  Italics  gratuitously 
introduced  into  the  English  version  ; 
'And  it  came  to  pass,  as  Moses  entered 
into  the  tabernacle,  the  cloudy  pillar 
descended,  and  stood  at  the  door  of  the 


B.  C.  1491.J 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


167 


tabernacle,  and  talked  with  Moses. 
And  all  the  people  saw  the  cloudy  pil- 
lar stand  at  the  tabernacle-door :  and 
all  the  people  rose  up  and  worshipped, 
every  man  in  his  tent-door.  And  the 
Lord  spake  unto  Moses  face  to  face,  as 
a  man  spoaketh  unto  his  friend.'  Here 
it  is  evident  that  'cloudy  pillar'  and 
'Lord'  are  used  synonymously,  and  if 
the  fact  of  such  a  usage  in  repeated  in- 
stances be  borne  in  mind,  there  will  be 
no  serious  objection  to  the  present  mode 
of  rendering  v.  9,  '  the  Lord  talked  with 
Moses,'  instead  of  simply  '  it  talked 
with  Moses.'  The  phraseology,  at  any 
rate,  is  remarkable,  and  shows  beyond 
question  that  the  cloud  of  the  Shekinah 
was  the  grand  organ  of  communication 
to  the  covenant  people.  It  was  the 
Speaker,  the  Word,  of  the  ancient  econ- 
omy ;  and  the  place  whence  the  oracles 
w-ere  uttered  from  the  Shekinah,  after 
it  became  enthroned  in  the  sanctuary, 
was  called  T^Ql  debir,  word-place, 
from  ^Z"  dabar,  word,  to  which,  as 
every  scholar  knows,  corresponds  the 
Gr.  Loyoi,  word,  used  by  John  in  the 
commencement  of  his  Gospel.  Indeed, 
we  are  persuaded  that  it  is  only  in  the 
view  above  given  of  the  import  of  the 
visible  symbol  of  the  cloudy  pillar  and 
the  enshrined  Glory,  that  we  have  the 
true  clue  to  tlie  Evangelist's  meaning, 
which,  if  we  understand  it,  is  nothing 
less  than  an  identification  of  Christ  with 
the  'Jehovah,'  or  the  oracular  presence, 
the  Shekinah,  of  the  Old  Testament.  'In 
the  beginning,'  i.  e.  under  the  old  dis- 
pensation, 'was  the  Word,'  the  speak- 
ing, commanding,  law-giving  Shekinah; 
'and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the 
Word  was  God,'  equivalent  to  what 
Moses  says,  'My  name  is  in  him,'  all 
divine  attributes  were  to  be  considered 
as  associated  with  and  dwelling  in  the 
sensuous  symbol ;  'And  the  Word  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,'  the 
shadow}-,  but  glorious  symbol  of  the 
earlier  economy  at  length  became  sub- 
stantiated in  human  flesh,  and  as  the  ! 


incarnate  Jehovah  dwelt,  or  as  the 
original  has  it  (ecrKnvojcci')  tabernacled, 
shekinized  among  us ;  'and  we  belield 
his  glory,'  referring  not  to  the  intrinsic 
moral  glory  that  distinguished  his  char- 
acter, and  that  migiit  be  said  to  be  seen 
whenever  his  person  was  seen,  hut  rather 
to  that  special  and  overwhelming  display 
of  which  John,  Peter,  and  James  were 
eye-witnesses  on  the  mount  of  trans- 
figuration, when  there  was  a  temporary 
rending  or  laying  aside  of  the  veil  of 
his  flesh,  the  cloud  of  liis  human  nature, 
and  a  transient  disclosure  of  the  indwel- 
ling Shekinah,  the  glory  of  his  Godhead. 
This  was  a  preintimation  to  the  senses 
of  that  ineffable  light  and  splendor  in 
which  he  will  appear  when  he  comes 
with  the  retinue  of  his  saints  to  be  the 
luminary  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  which 
is  to  come  down  from  God  out  of  heaven. 
The  whole  scene  seems  to  have  been 
intended  to  afford  a  demonstration  to, 
the  senses  of  the  substantial  identity  of 
the  person  of  the  incarnate  Redeemer 
with  the  manifested  Jehovah  of  the  Jew- 
ish dispensation.  Consequently,  what- 
ever of  essential  divinity  is  indicated 
by  the  title  'Jehovah,'  it  is  unquestion- 
ably to  be  considered  as  belonging  to 
Christ.  The  proposal  of  Peter  on  this 
occasion  to  build  three  tabernacles, 
while  it  showed  that  the  overpowering 
display  had  somewhat  confused  his 
mind,  shows  at  the  same  time,  by  a 
natural  association,  the  connexion  in  his 
thoughts  of  the  Shekinah  with  a  taber- 
nacle. Here  was  the  Shekinah.  which 
he  well  knew  had  been  used  to  abide  in  a 
tabernacle,  but  there  was  no  tabernacle 
to  receive  it,  and  thence  his  proposition. 
It  would  be  easy  to  prosecute  this 
train  of  thought  to  a  much  greater  ex- 
tent, and  accumulate  proofs  of  our  main 
position,  but  we  nuist  leave  it  to  be  fol- 
lowed out  by  ourselves  or  others  under 
circumstances  that  will  allow  of  more 
enlargement.  We  doubt  not  it  is  a  field 
in  which  a  rich  harvest  of  Scripture 
elucidation  is  yet  to  be  reaped. 


168 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

AND  the  Lord  spake  uiito  Mo- 
ses, sayini^, 
2  Speak  uulo  the  children  of  Is- 
rael, ^  that  tiiey  turn  and  encamp 

ach.  13.  18. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  children  of  Israel  had  now  ar- 
rived  near  the  head  of  the  Red  Sea,  and 
at  the  limit  of  the  three  days'  journey 
into  the  wilderness,  for  which  they  had 
iippiiod.  It  is  tlierefore  evident  that 
their  next  move  must  decide  their  future 
course,  and  convey  to  the  Egyptians, 
who  doubtless  kept  a  keen  eye  upon 
their  movements,  a  clear  and  decisive 
intimation  of  their  intentions.  If  they 
designed  to  do  as  they  had  all  along  de- 
clared to  be  their  purpose,  they  would 
stay  at  this  place  and  proceed  to  cele- 
brate their  intended  feast  to  Jehovah  ; 
but  if  they  meant  to  escape  altogether, 
they  would  resume  their  journey,  and, 
passing  by  the  head  of  the  Red  Sea, 
strike  oif  into  the  desert.  The  march 
from  Etham  then,  whatever  direction  it 
took,  was  to  be  a  decisive  move,  and 
what  that  move  was  we  are  now  to 
consider. 

2.  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel, 
that  they  turn,  &c.  Heb.  IS^D'^  yashubu, 
irom  '2111^)  the  usual  meaning  of  which 
is  to  return,  turn  back,  go  back  again, 
and  so  it  is  here  rendered  by  Gesenius. 
But  the  circumstances  of  the  case  for- 
bid this  meaning  except  in  a  very  limit- 
ed degree.  The  import  of  the  term  un- 
doubtedly is  that  of  turning  off,  devi- 
ating, from  the  direct  course,  which 
would  have  been  due  east  till  they  had 
rounded  the  upper  extremity  of  the  gulf. 
An  ample  confirmation  of  this  sense  of 
the  term  may  be  seen  upon  comparing 
Ezek.  35.  7.  Zech.  7.  14— 9.  8.  Ps.  73. 
10.  Tlie  divine  command  now  given  to 
change  the  direction  of  their  route  must 
have  been  unexpected  and  surprising  to 
all  parties,  and  one  which  on  any  human 
principle  of  action  would  have  appeared 


before  '^ri-hahiroth, between  cMig- 
dol  and  the  sea,  over  against  Baal- 
zephon :  before  it  shall  ye  encamp 
by  the  sea. 

b  Numb.  3.3.  7.     c  jgr.  44.  1. 

utterly  inexplicable.  To  be  convinced 
of  this  we  need  only  bring  before  us  the 
topography  of  the  region.  About  the 
head  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez  a  desert  plain 
extends  for  ten  or  twelve  miles  to  the 
west  and  north  of  the  city  of  that 
name.  On  the  west  this  plain  is  bound- 
ed by  the  mountainous  cliain  of  Attaka, 
which  comes  down  toward  the  sea  in  a 
north-western  direction,  contracting  the 
breadth  of  the  plain  more  and  more,  till 
it  finally  seems  to  shut  it  up  by  its  ter- 
mination at  Ras-el-Attaka,  twelve  miles 
below  Suez.  But  on  approaching  this 
point  ample  room  is  lound  to  pass  be- 
yond;  and  on  passing  beyond,  we  hud 
ourselves  in  a  broad  alluvial  plain,  form- 
ing the  mouth  of  the  valley  of  Bedea. 
This  plain  is  on  the  other  or  southern 
side  nearly  shut  up  by  the  termination 
of  another  chain  of  these  mountains, 
which  extend  between  the  Nile  and  the 
western  shore  of  the  Red  Sea.  Any 
further  progress  in  this  direction  would 
be  impossible  to  a  large  army,  especially 
one  encumbered  with  flocks  and  herds, 
with  women,  children,  and  baggage. 
The  valley  of  Bedea,  which  opens  to 
the  Red  Sea  in  the  broad  plain  above- 
mentioned,  narrows  as  it  proceeds  west- 
ward towards  the  Nile.  It  forms  a  fine 
roadway  between  the  Nile  and  the  Red 
Sea,  and  as  such  has  in  all  ages  been 
one  of  the  most  frequented  routes  in  all 
the  country,  being  travelled  by  all  par- 
ties and  caravans  desirous  of  proceed- 
ing from  the  neighborhood  of  Cairo,  or 
places  to  the  south  of  Cairo,  to  Suez,  or 
the  region  lying  beyond  the  head  of  the 
gulf.  Now,  the  Hebrew  host  being  at 
Etham,  and  their  next  stcj)  from  thence 
being  of  the  utmost  importance,  they 
were  directed,  not — as  might  obviously 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


169 


have  been  expected — to  pass  round  the 
head  of  the  Gulf  into  the  Sinai  peninsula, 
but  to  proceed  southward,  between  the 
mountains  of  Attaka  and  the  western 
shore  of  the  Gulf,  and,  alter  passing  the 
Ras-el- Attaka,  to  encamp  in  the  plain 
into  which  the  valley  of  Bedea  opens. 
But  the  question  recurs,  why  bring  them 
down  this  w'Ay,  and  make  the  passage 
of  the  Red  Sea  necessary,  when  they 
might  so  much  more  easily  have  got 
into  the  peninsula  of  Sinai  by  going 
round  the  Gulf? — why  lead  them  out  of 
their  way  to  '  entangle'  and  '  shut  them 
in'  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea? 
The  answer  to  this  is  given  in  v.  3,  4. 
It  was  to  give  Pharaoh  an  additional 
inducement  to  follow  them  to  his  own 
destruction,  by  his  knowledge  of  the 
advantage  which  their  embarrassed  po- 
sition would  give  him  over  them.  The 
overthrow  of  the  Egyptian  host  was  the 
contemplated  result  of  this  movement ; 
and  by  this  overthrow  not  only  did  the 
Egyptians  receive  their  complete  and 
final  punishment,  but  the  immediate  se- 
curity and  future  success  of  the  Israel- 
ites were  greatly  assisted  by  it.  For 
we  learn  from  many  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, that  the  neighboring  tribes  and 
natives  were  too  much  alarmed  and  in- 
timidated by  this  stupendous  event  to 
think  of  any  hostile  encounter,  the  sin- 
gle instance  of  the  Amalekites  excepted. 
But  of  this  more  in  the  sequel. IT  Be- 
fore Pihahiroth.  Ileb.  n^'^nn  "B  '^'Sb 
liphn'e.  pi  hahiroth,  more  properly  writ- 
ten in  English  in  the  form  of  'Pi-ha- 
hiroth.'  *  There  is  not  a  more  minute 
specification  of  locality  in  tlie  Bible  than 
that  which  the  text  affords  ;  and  one  is 
led  to  think  that  it  was  thus  carefully 
pointed  out,  in  order  to  render  it  mani- 
fest that  the  passage  could  not  there  be 
efft'cted  by  less  than  a  miracle ;  or,  in 
other  words,  to  preclude  those  attempts 
to  account  for  it  on  natural  grounds 
which  have  actually  resulted  from  the 
memory  of  the  spot  thus  distinctly  de- 
noted being  now  lost.  Not  one  of  the 
Vol.  I                 15 


names  now  exists.  It  perhaps  throws 
some  light  on  the  passage  to  read  tlie 
word  Pi-ha-liiroth  not  as  a  proper  name, 
but  as  a  descriptive  epithet.  Hiroth 
means  a  valley,  a  confined  pass,  or  a 
defile  among  mountains ;  pi  signifies 
'  mouth,'  or  '  entrance  ;'  ha  is  merely 
the  definite  article  the,  or  of  the :  so 
that  we  may  read  the  word  Pi-ha-hiroth, 
as  '  the  entrance  of  the  valley  or  pass.' 
It  would  thus  denote,  as  we  may  take 
it,  the  pass  or  strip  of  land  along  the 
western  shore  of  the  gulf,  between  the 
mountains  which  skirt  the  sea,  and  the 
sea  itself.  It  is  certain  that  they  crossed 
from  the  western  to  the  eastern  shore ; 
and  as  this  valley  between  the  moun- 
tains and  the  sea  commences  nearly  at 
the  extremity  of  the  gulf,  the  Hebrews 
must  have  encamped  along  its  '  mouth' 
or  entrance,  if  the  s^a  were  nearly  then 
as  It  is  now  ;  and  there  they  would  have 
been  effectually  '  shut  in'  between  the 
mountains,  the  desert,  and  the  sea.  The 
same  result  arises  if  we  read  Pi-hahi- 
roth  as  a  proper  name,  and  apply  it  to 
the  mountains  which  confine  the  valley 
at  its  entrance,  the  present  name  of 
which,  Addagi,  '  deliverance,'  may  be 
supposed  to  commemorate  the  passage 
of  the  Red  Sea,  and  therefore  to  have 
superseded  some  previous  name.  This 
opinion  is  the  more  probable,  because 
the  flanks  of  the  Hebrew  host  would 
have  been  exposed  to  the  Egyptians 
whilst  marching  into  the  sea,  if  we 
place  the  point  of  passage  any  where 
above  this  valley,  in  which  the  moun- 
tains protected  the  right  flank,  and  the 
sea  the  left.  Here  their  rear  only  would 
be  exposed,  and  accordingly  we  read 
only  of  their  rear  being  protected  by 
the  pillar  of  cloud,  which  implies  that 
their  flanks  needed  no  protection.  We 
also  think  that  it  has  not  been  suffi- 
ciently considered  that  an  encampment 
consisting  of  about  two  miihous  o/  peo- 
ple must  have  covered  a  vast  extent  of 
ground  ;  and  wherever  they  encamped 
so  as  to  face  the  sea,  their  camp  must 


170 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


3  For  Pharaoh  will   say  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  ^  They  are  en- 

dPs.71.  11. 

have  stretched  along  the  shore  for  the 
extent  of  several  miles,  particularly  if 
they  were  hemmed  in  between  the  sea 
and  the  mountains  as  we  would  con- 
jecture ;  and  if  then  when  thus  stretch- 
ed out  in  one  extensive  line  from  north 
to  south  along  the  western  shore  of  the 
gulf,  the  southern  part  of  the  body  com- 
menced the  move  into  the  dried  passage 
in  the  sea,  it  necessarily  follows  that 
the  point  of  passage  must  have  been 
many  miles  below  the  termination  of 
the  inlet.  This  argument  is  conclusive 
to  our  minds  that,  consistently  with 
their  encampment  along  the  sea  coast, 
they  must  have  parsed  many  miles  to 
the  south  of  the  end  of  the  gulf,  wher- 
ever the  gulf  then  ended  ;  and  even  if  it 
terminated  much  more  to  the  south  than 
at  present,  we  are  still  disposed  to  con- 
sider this  position  of  the  camp  as  tlie 
most  probable,  because  most  consistent 
witli  the  '  shutting  in,'  the  '  entangling,' 
and  the  other  circumstances,  which  im- 
])ly  that,  when  the  Egyptian  host  took 
them  in  the  rear,  their  only  way  to  es- 
cajjc  was  through  the  sea.'    Pict.  Bible. 

ir  Behceen  Migdol  and  the  sen  over 

against  Baal-zepher.  It  is  impossi])le 
to  attain  to  any  certainty  in  the  location 
of  these  places,  nor  in  fact  is  it  clear 
what  precise  idea  is  to  be  affixed  to  the 
term  'before'  in  this  connexion.  We 
may  doubtless  be  satisfied  that  the  sev- 
eral places  mentioned  were  all  within 
the  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  of 
each  other,  and  probably  all  in  sight  to 
some  part  of  the  host,  which  in  a  valley 
of  no  great  widtli  must  have  spread  over 
at  le;ist  that  extent.  Professor  Stuart 
(Course  of  Heb.  Study,  Exc.IV.)  thinks 
that  Migdol  is  identical  with  the  mo- 
(h^ru  Ber  Suez,  or  well  of  Suez.  'This 
is  a  ^mall  place,  strongly  fortified  in 
modern  times,  in  order  to  secure  the 


tangled  in  the  land,  the  wilderness 
hath  shut  them  in. 


privilege  of  water  for  Suez.  It  is  about 
three  miles  west  from  Suez  ;  and  in  this 
low  sandy  plain,  it  must  be  altogether 
in  view.  If  now  in  ancient  times  there 
was  a  similar  castle  or  fortification  at 
this  well,  (a  thing  altogether  probable, 
considering  the  nearness  of  predatory 
Arabian  Nomades),  then  Migdol  was 
an  appropriate  name  for  the  place.  For 
although  the  regular  Hebrew  word  for 
toicer  is  ^l^l'O  migdal,  yet  ^13^  mig- 
dol, from  its  derivation,  seems  to  be  al- 
together an  equivalent  for  "^I^J^  mig- 
dal; and  therefore  to  mean  tower ,  forti' 
fied  place' 

3.  Pharaoh  will  say  of  the  children 
of  Israel.  Heb.  ^i^^::^  "i:^^  1^:5^  amar 
libn'e  Y Israel,  will  say  to  the  children  of 
Israel  ;  i.  e.  as  to,  respecting,  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel.  See  this  sense  of  the  par- 
ticle '  to'  illustrated  in  the  Note  on  Gen. 

20.  2.   Gr.  mpi  tmv  viov. IT  They  are 

entangled.  Heb.  t3"'-::3  nebukim,  from 
"IID  bilk,  to  be  perplexed,  to  warider 
about  in  perplexity,  whether  physically 
or  mentally.  Gr.  r)^nv'oi'Tai,  they  rove 
about.  The  term  occurs  Est.  3.  15, 
'The  city  of  Shushan  was  perplexed;' 
and  also  Joel.  1.  18,  'The  herds  of  cat- 
tle are  perplexed,  because  they  have  no 
pasture.'  This  sudden  turn  on  the  part 
of  the  Israelites  would  naturally  lead 
Pharaoh  to  conclude  that  they  had  mis- 
taken their  way,  and  knew  not  what  to 
do.  But  their  apparent  infatuation  was 
the  means  of  jiroducing  in  him  a  real  in- 
fatuation, which  prompted  him  to  pur- 
sue them  to  his  ruin. IT  The  wilder- 
ness hath  shut  them  in.  The  host  of 
Israel  having  entered  this  narrow  pass 
between  the  mountams  on  one  side,  and 
the  sea  on  the  other,  Pharaoh  would 
suppose  that  by  cutting  off  their  retreat 
in  the  rear,  they  would  have  no  means 
of  escape  except  through  the  sea,  and 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


171 


4  And  c  I  will  harden  Plinraoh's 
heart,  that  he  shall  follow  alter 
them;  and  I  ^will  he  honoured 
upon  Pharaoh,  and  upon  all  his 
host ;  g  that  the  Egyptians  may 
know  that  I  oni  the  Lord.  And 
they  did  so. 

ech,  4.  21.  &  7.  3.  fell.  y.  Ifi.  ver.  17,  18. 
Rom.  9.  17,22,  23.     ffch,7,5. 


this  of  course  did  not  enter  his  thoughts. 
'What  seems  to  tend  to  the  church's 
ruin,  is  often  overruled  to  the  ruin  of 
the  churcli's  enemies.'     Henry. 

4.  /  will  be  honored  vpon  Pharaoh, 
and  upon  all  his  host.  Heb.  m!3!Z!J^ 
ikkabedah,  I  will  be  glorified.  The  ul- 
timate scope  to  which  all  the  counsels 
of  Pharaoh  were  to  be  overruled  is  here 
stated  ;  viz.  the  bringing  of  a  larger 
measure  of  glory  to  the  great  name  of 
God.  This  is  m  fact  the  end  of  all  his 
judgments  upon  wicked  men.  As  all 
creatures  are  made  for  his  honor  and 
glory,  if  they  do  not  willingly  and  cor- 
dially render  him  his  due,  he  will  ex- 
tort it  from  them  in  the  righteous  doom 
to  which  he   condemns   them.     Comp. 

Ezek.  38.  22,  23. IT  And  they  did  so. 

That  IS,  the  Israelites  did  as  they  had 
been  commanded  relative  to  changing 
their  route. 

5.  It  ua^  told  the  king  that  the  people 
had  fled.  Pharaoh  could  not  be  igno- 
rant that  the  Israelites  had  left  Egypt, 
for  the  avowed  purpose  of  holding  a 
sacrifice  in  the  desert,  as  they  had  gone 
out  with  his  permission,  and  their  de- 
parture had  been  hastened  by  his  own 
people.  But  this  he  seems  not  to  have 
regarded  as  a  'flight.'  He  is  now,  how- 
ever, informed  that  they  had  'fled  ;'  i.  e. 
that  they  discovered  a  very  different 
intention  from  that  of  going  three  daj'^s' 
journey  into  the  wilderness  and  return- 
ing again,  as  lie  had  been  led  to  expect. 
He  now  understood  that  they  had  no 
intention  of  returning.  It  was  in  this 
sense  that  Pharaoh  learned  that  they 
had  'iled.'    He  probably  received  his 


5  ^And  it  was  told  the  king  of 
Egypt  that  the  ])eopIe  lied  :  and 
J>  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  and  of  his 
servants  was  turned  against  the 
people,  and  they  said,  Why  have 
we  done  this,  that  we  have  let  Is- 
rael go  from  serving  us  ? 

b  Ps.  105.  25. 


information  from  some  of  the  mixt  mul- 
titude who  returned  upon  tlie  route  be- 
ing changed,  for  which  they  could  see 
no  reason,  and  therefore  concluded  it 
not  safe  to  trust  themselves  longer  to 

such  an  uncertain  guidance. ^  And 

the  heart  of  Pharaoh  and  of  his  servants 
was  turned,  &c.  This  inexorable  mon- 
arch was  left  in  a  previous  chapter 
stricken  with  terror  and  dismay  at  the 
death  of  the  first-born.  We  saw  him 
overpowered  by  that  signal  display  of 
divine  wrath  against  him,  and  inwardly 
constrained  to  send  away  the  Israelites 
in  haste  out  of  his  dominions.  We 
could  fain  have  hoped  that  the  terrible 
chastisement  he  had  already  experi- 
enced would  have  been  sufficient  to 
humble  the  pride  of  his  spirit,  and  bring 
him  in  penitence  and  prayer  to  the  foot- 
stool of  divine  mercy.  But,  alas  I  the 
power  of  a  reprobate  sense  shows  itself 
as  strong  as  ever.  Every  conviction 
and  alarm  had  passed  away  from  his 
obdurate  mind,  like  breath  from  the 
polished  surface  of  a  mirror.  He  re- 
pented indeed,  but  only  that  he  liud  let 
them  go.  He  repented  that  lie  had  been 
obedient  to  the  command  of  God,  and 
he  would  retract  his  permission.  Pride, 
resentment,  avarice,  reassumed  their 
empire  over  his  heart,  and  goaded  him 
on  to  the  mad  attempt  to  recover  his 
escaping  captives.  His  subjects,  so  far 
as  they  had  a  profitable  interest  in  the 
labors  of  the  Israelites,  would  naturally 
share  in  the  feelings  of  the  king,  and 
the  intimation  of  loss  would  not  fail  to 
alarm  those 'who  had  'lent'  to  the  He- 
brews their  'jewels  of  silver  and  jewels 


172 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


6  And  he  m?Ae  ready  his  chariot, 
and  took  his  people  with  him  : 

7  And  he  took  '  six  hundred  cho- 
sen chariots,  and  all  the  chariots 
of  Esrypt,  and  captains  over  every 
one  of  them. 

8  And  the  Lord  ^hardened  the 
heart  of  I'haraoh  king  of  Egl.Tt' 
and  he  pursued  after  the  children 

1  ch.  15.  4.    k  vcr.  4. 


of  gold,'  and  who  by  this  time  had 
found  Ifisure  to  think  that  they  had 
too  easily  parted  with  their  wealth. 
Thus  it  is  that  the  wicked  show  them- 
selves as  prone  to  repent  of  their  well- 
doing as  the  righteous  of  their  ill- 
doing. 

6.  He  made  ready  his  chariot.     Hi  b. 


of  Israel :  and  l  the  children  of  Is- 
rael went  out  with  an  hic^h  hand. 
9  But  the  '"Egyptians  pursued  af- 
ter them  (all  the  horses  and  chari- 
ots of  Pharaoh,  and  his  horsemen, 
and  his  army)  and  overtook  them 
encamping  hy  the  sea,  beside  Pi- 
hahiroth,  before  Baal-zephon. 


Ich.  6.  1.&  13.9. 
9.    Josh.  24.  6. 


Numb.  33.  3.    "i  ch.  15. 


lIllD*!  rii^  105^^1  va-yesor  eth  rikbo, 
joined  or  bound  his  diariot;  i.  e.  the 
h(»rses  to  the  chariot.  Gr.  t^cv^c  yoked. 
The  word  'chariot,'  though  in  the  sin- 
gular, is  to  be  understood  in  a  plural 
sense.  He  ordered  all  his  chariots  to 
be  got  ready.  The  same  term  in  the 
next  verse  is  also  singular. 


Egyptian  War  Chariot. 


7.  Went  out  irith  an  high  hand.  That  i  a  high  hand,'  Num.  15.  30,   is  to  sin 
is,  openly,  boldly,  powerfully,  in  the    openly,  fearlessly,  and  audaciously. 
full   view  of  llie  Egyptians,  and   withi      9.  Overtook  them  encamping  hy  the 
the  air  not  of  a  company  of  renegadoes,  j  sea.    Upon  this  passage  the  Editor  of 
but  of  a  mighty  army.    So  to  sin  'with  i  the  Pictorial  History  of  Palestine  re- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


173 


10  H  And  when  Pharaoh  drew 
nigh,  the  children  of  Israel  lifted  up 
their  eyes,  and  behold,  the  Egyp- 
tians  marched   after   them ;    and 


marks,  'We  do  not  agree  with  those 
•who  think  that  the  king  of  Egypt  came 
upon  the  encamped  Hebrews  through 
the  valley  of  Bedea,  in  the  plain  at  the 
mouth  of  which  they  were  encamped. 
As  he  was  so  glad  to  find  how  they  liad 
'entangled  themselves  in  the  land,'  he 
was  not  likely  to  take  a  course  which 
Avould  deprive  him  of  all  the  advantages 
derivable  from  their  apparent  oversight. 
This  he  would  do  by  coming  upon  them 
through  the  valley  of  Bedea,  for  this 
would  have  left  o^sen  to  them  the  alter- 
native of  escaping  from  their  position 
by  the  way  they  entered  ;  whereas,  by 
coming  the  same  way  they  had  come, 
he  shut  up  that  door  of  escape  ;  and  if 
they  fled  before  him,  left  them  no  other 
visible  resource  but  to  marcli  up  the 
valley  of  Bedea,  back  to  Egypt,  before 
the  Egyptian  troops.  That  this  was 
really  the  advantage  to  himself  which 
the  king  saw  in  their  position,  and  that 
it  was  his  object  to  drive  them  before 
him  back  to  Egypt  through  this  valley, 
or  to  destroy  them  if  they  ofil-red  to 
resist,  we  have  not  the  least  doulit :  and 
it  is  unlikely  that  he  would  take  any 
road  but  that  wliich  would  enable  him 
to  secure  these  benefits.'  To  this  view 
of  the  subject  we  do  not  object  as  far  as 
the  main  body  of  Pharaoh's  army  is 
concerned.  They  would  no  doubt  pur- 
sue the  Hebrew  caravan  in  the  same 
route  which  it  travelled,  but  as  the 
Egyptians  doubtless  kept  themselves 
informed  of  every  movement  of  the  Is- 
raelites, we  would  suggest  the  proba- 
bility that  a  detachment  of  Pharaoh's 
forces  took  their  march  through  the 
valley  of  Tib,  in  order  to  intercept 
their  escape  through  that  avenue.  Tliey 
would  thus  be  eflectually  hemmed  in 
on  every  side,  and  no  possible  mode  of 
extrication  remained  f()r  then),  unless 
15* 


they  were  sore  afraid:  and.  the 
children  of  Israel  "cried  out  unto 
the  Lord. 

"Josh.  24.7.  Neh.  9.9.  Ps.  34.  17.  &  107.6. 


the  sea  opened  to  let  them  pass  through 
it.  The  Egyptians  being  satisfied  that 
they  had  secured  their  prey,  and  tliat  it 
was  impossible  for  their  fugitive  bonds- 
men to  escape,  were  in  no  haste  to  as- 
sail them.  They  were  themselves  also 
probably  wearied  by  their  rapid  march. 
They  therefore  encamped  for  the  night 
— for  it  was  towards  evening  when  they 
arrived  —  intending,  no  doubt,  to  give 
eflect  to  their  intentions  in  the  morn- 
ii>g. 

10.  And  when  Pharaoh  drew  nigh, 
&c.  However  much  reason  we  have 
before  had  to  wonder  at  the  obstinacy 
and  unbelief  of  Pharaoh,  we  have  here 
occasion  to  vent  our  astonishment  at 
the  unbelief  of  those  in  whom  we  should 
least  ex])ect  it.  The  sight  of  their  old 
oppressors  struck  the  Israelites  with 
terror.  Pervaded  by  a  general  panic, 
tiieir  faith  and  their  courage  seemed  to 
desert  them  at  once.  TJiey  deplored 
the  rash  adventure  in  which  they  had 
engaged,  and  their  servile  minds  looked 
back  with  regret  and  envy  upon  the  en- 
slaved condition  under  which  they  had 
so  recently  sighed.  But  wherefore  did 
they  now  give  way  to  fear  ?  Could  they 
not  look  back  upon  the  wonders  which 
God  had  wrought  for  them  so  short  a 
time  before  ?  Could  they  not  remember 
the  recent  death  of  all  the  first-born  in 
Egypt  ?  Could  they  not  fix  their  eye  on 
the  pillar  of  cloud,  and  encourage  them- 
selves in  that  immediate  token  of  God's 
presence  with  them  and  his  care  for 
them  ?  True  indeed,  they  were  in  a 
strait,  a  very  great  strait,  and  their  peril 
was  imminent.  They  were  surrounded 
with  dangers  on  all  sides.  Tlie  moun- 
tains, the  sea,  the  pursuing  hosts  of 
Egypt  jiressed  close  upon  them  on  every 
hand.  In  ordinary  circumstances  there 
was  no  doubt,  occasion  ibr  the  greatesi 


174 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


11  oAnd  they  said  unto  Moses, 
Because  there  tcere  no  graves  in 
Egypt,  hast  thou  taken  us  away  to 

o  Ps.  106.  7,  8. 

alarm.  But  they  were  not  in  ordinary 
lircuinstances.  They  had  lately  vit- 
ncsscfl  a  series  of  most  extraordinary 
proofs  that  God  had  taken  up  their 
cause.  They  knew,  moreover,  that  it 
was  the  same  God  who  had  so  miracu- 
lously appeared  in  their  behalf,  and 
brouglit  them  out  of  Egypt,  tliat  had 
conducted  them  to  the  perilous  position 
which  they  now  occupied,  and  they  were 
bound  to  believe  that  in  all  this  he  in- 
tended them  good  and  not  evil,  and  that 
his  omnipotence  would  in  some  way 
make  sure  their  rescue.  Their  fears 
therefore  were  groundless,  and  their 
complaints  inexcusable.  They  showed 
in  this  too  much  of  the  spirit  of  Pha- 
raoh himself  They  were  as  forgetful 
of  tlie  Lord's  mercies  which  they  had 
experienced,  as  he  of  the  judgments 
which  he  had  suffered.  The  similarity 
however  of  our  own  conduct  in  trying 
circumstances  should  no  doubt  abate 
our  surprise  at  tlie  perverseness  of  Is- 
rael. Alas,  how  little  can  we  ourselves 
exercise  faith  and  trust,  in  our  own  dan- 
gers and  troubles  !  How  prone  are  we 
to  forget  our  past  mercies,  how  inca- 
pable to  see  our  present  help,  how  ready 
to  count  God  our  enemy  when  his  provi- 
dence frowns,  and  after  all  our  experi- 
ence of  his  truth  to  cry  out,  'We  shall 
one  day  perish?'  Let  then  the  spirit  of 
self-reproof  temper  our  condemnation  of 
unbelieving  Israel. 

11.  And  they  said  unto  Moses,  Be- 
cause, &c.  Had  the  Israelites  merely 
given  way  to  the  inward  promptings  of 
an  ignoble  fear,  or  confined  the  expres- 
sion of  it  to  one  another,  we  should  have 
been  less  dis])osed  to  condemn,  although 
even  then  we  should  not  have  been  able 
to  excuse  i'..  But  when  we  see  their 
fears  exciting  them  to  murmur  against 
Moses,  as  the  procuring  cause  of  their 


die  in  the  wilderness  ?  Wherefore 
hast  thou  dealt  thus  with  us,  to 
carry  us  forth  out  of  Egypt? 


I  - 


distresses,  we  can  scarcely  prevent  a 
feeling  of  the  indignant  from  mingling 
with  our  surprise.  It  was  at  once  an 
ebullition  of  rank  injustice  and  ingrati- 
tude towards  Moses,  and  a  gross  provo- 
cation of  God,  in  obedience  to  whose 
orders  he  had  taken  every  step  towards 
their  deliverance.  We  do  not  forget, 
although  they  did,  that  all  his  great  in- 
terests were  embarked  with  theirs  in 
this  enterprise.  His  lot  was  cast  into 
the  common  lap.  He  had  made  a  sacri- 
fice unspeakably  greater  than  any  other 
individual  of  the  immense  congregation. 
His  prospects,  either  for  himself  or  his 
family,  were  no  more  bright  or  flatter- 
ing than  those  of  the  obscurest  Hebrew. 
If  there  were  danger  from  the  pursuing 
host  of  Pharaoh,  his  share,  assuredly, 
was  not  less  than  that  of  any  other  man. 
He  had  rendered  himself  peculiarly  ob- 
noxious to  the  unrelenting  tyrant,  and 
must  have  been  among  the  first  victims 
of  his  resentment.  In  view  of  this 
treatment  we  feel  that  if  others  might 
be  offended,  Moses  might  burn  ;  and  yet 
in  the  midst  of  these  trying  circum- 
stances, he  affords  us  a  noble  example 
of  the  meekness  and  forbearance  for 
which  he  was  so  distinguished.  In  the 
danger  which  appeared,  and  in  the  un- 
reasonable and  wicked  complaining  of 
the  people  against  him,  he  stood  un- 
moved. Far  from  remonstrating  with 
them  or  vindicating  himself,  he  dis- 
covered the  most  admirable  composure 
of  mind,  aiming  to  comfort  and  encour- 
age instead  of  chiding  them,  and  assur- 
ing them  that  they  had  nothing  to  do 
but  to  remain  quiet  and  wait.  They 
need  neither  fiee  nor  fight.  That  was 
the  last  time  that  the  Egyptians  should 
cause  them  either  fear  or  trouble.  The 
Lord  should  fight  for  them  and  they 
should  soon  see  the  unreasonableness 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XrV. 


175 


12  p/.f  not  this  the  word  that  we 
did  tell  thee  in  Egypt,  saying,  Let 
us  alone,  that  we  may  serve  the 
Egyptians  ?  For  it  had  been  better 
ibr  us  to  serve  the  Egyptians,  than 
that  we  should  die  in  the  wilder- 
ness. 

13  ^And  Moses  said  unto  the 
people,  qFear  ye  not,  stand  still, 

Pcli.  5.  21.  &  6.  9.  q2  Chron.  20.  15,  17. 
Isai.  41.  10,13,  14. 

of  their  alarms,  and  be  ashamed  of  their 
unjust  suspicions  and  complaints. 

12.  Is  not  this  the  word,  &c.  We  do 
not  indeed  previously  read  of  their  ut- 
tering these  precise  words,  but  this  was 
the  spirit,  the  drift,  of  their  desponding 
expostulations  with  Moses  and  Aaron 
when  they  found  their  burdens  increas- 
ed. The  language  breathes  the  most 
deplorable  sordidness  and  pusillanimity 
of  soul,  as  if  their  spirits  had  been  ut- 
terly broken  down  and  crushed  by  their 
long  bondage.  Because  their  liberty 
was  attended  with  some  dangers  and 
difficulties,  they  speak  of  it  with  virtual 
contempt,  as  if  a  state  of  servitude 
were  to  be  preferred !  Had  they  pos- 
sessed the  generous  spirits  of  rnen,  they 
would  have  said  it  was  better,  if  needs 
be,  to  die  on  the  field  of  honor  than  to 
live  in  the  chains  of  slavery.  Why 
should  the  idea  of  a  grave  in  the  wil- 
derness be  so  dreadful  to  them  ?  Why 
should  they  prefer  to  it  a  grave  in 
Egypt  ?  It  was  but  a  grave  at  the 
worst ;  only  if  they  died  now,  they  died 
at  once  ;  died  like  men  defending  their 
lives,  liberty,  and  families  ;  not  pour- 
ing out  their  lives,  drop  by  drop,  under 
the  whip  of  a  cruel  taskmaster.  But 
slavery  had  done  its  work  in  extinguish- 
ing the  nobler  impulses  of  their  nature, 
and  the  native  unbelief  and  depravity  of 
the  human  heart  had  put  the  finishing 
stroke  to  their  perverseness. 

13.  Fear  ye  not,  stand  still.  Heb. 
li^^rn  hithyntzebu ,  stand  firm  ;  waver 
not    stagger  not,   in   your   minds. 


and  see  the  salvation  of  the  Lord, 
which  he  will  shew  to  you  to-day : 
for  the  Egyptians  whom  ye  have 
seen  to-day,  ye  shall  see  them  a- 
gain  no  more  for  ever. 

14  !•  The  LoKU  shall  fight  for  you, 
and  ye  shall  =*  hold  your  peace. 


r  ver.  25.  Deul.  1.  30.  A:  3.  22.  &  20.  4.  Josh. 
10.  It,  42.  &  23.  3.  2  Cluon.  20.  29.  Neh. 
4.  20.  Isai.  31.  4.     s  is:ti.30.  15. 


IT  See  the  salvation  of  the  Lord.  That 
is,  experience,  enjoy  the  salvation.  See 
on  this  peculiar  use  of  the  word  '  see' 

the  Note  on  Gen.  42.  1. IT  For  the 

Egyptians  whom  ye  have  seen,  &c.  Heb. 
'For  in  what  manner  ye  have  seen  the 
Egyptians  to-day  ye  shall  not  add  to 
see  them  any  more  for  ever ;'  i.  e.  ye 
shall  not  see  them  alive  any  more. 

14.  Ye  shall  hold  your  peace.  Heb. 
■^"I'l^inn  taharishun,  ye  shall  be  silent ; 
a  term  denoting  here,  as  in  many  other 
instances,  not  so  much  a  cessation  from 
noise  as  from  action,  equivalent  to  re- 
maining still,  quiet,  or  inert.  Thus,  2 
Kings,  19.  11,  'Why  are  ye  the  last  to 
bring  the  king  back  from  his  house  V 
Heb.  'Why  are  ye  silent  from  bring- 
ing,' &c. ;  i.  e.  why  are  ye  negligent  1 
Ps.  S3.  1,  'Keep  not  thou  silence,  O 
God  ;'  i.  e.  do  not  forbear  to  act.  Ps.  5. 
3,  'Our  God  sliall  come  and  not  keep 
silence;^  i.  e.  shall  not  remain  inactive. 
By  this  usage  of  the  term  we  are  assist- 
ed in  the  interpretation  of  Rev.  8.  1, 
'And  when  we  had  opened  the  seventh 
seal  there  was  siencc  in  heaven  about 
the  space  of  half  an  hour ;'  i.  e.  there 
was  a  respite  from  action ;  the  vari- 
ous symbolical  agents  who  had  hitherto 
been  so  busily  employed  in  the  vision- 
ary heaven,  came  to  a  temporary  pause, 
representing  some  epoch  in  the  state  of 
the  church  when  a  series  of  stirring  and 
momentous  events,  a  succession  of  wars 
and  commotions,  were  followed  by  a 
profound,  though  not  a  lasting  calm. 
Such  is  the  import  of  the  symbol,  and 


176 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


15  H  And  the  LoKD  said  iiuto  Mo- 
ses,Wheretbre  criesl  ihou  unto  me  ? 
Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel, 
that  they  go  forward  : 

KJ  But'tiili  thou  up  thy  rod,  and 
stretch  out  thine  hand  over  the  sea, 

t  ver.  21,26.  eh.  7.  19. 

it  is  the  province  of  the  prophetic  ex- 
positor to  ascertain  from  the  records  of 
history  witli  what  era  of  the  church  the 
vision  corresponds.  In  the  case  before 
us,  the  prophet's  words  are  strikingly 
pertinent,  Isa.  30.  7,  'Therefore  have  I 
cried  concerning  this,  Their  strength  is 
to  sit  still.' 

15.  Wherefore  criest  thou  unto  me  ? 
As  nothing  has  been  before  said  of  Mo- 
ses' crying  or  praying  to  the  Lord  in 
express  words,  we  may  suppose  either 
that  his  crying  on  this  occasion  was  in 
strong  inward  ejaculations  and  groan- 
ings,  mingled  perhaps  with  an  undue 
perturbation  of  spirit,  or  that  Moses  is 
here  addressed  as  the  representative  of 
the  people  ;  not  as  crying  in  his  own 
person,  but  in  that  of  the  collective  body 
of  which  he  was  the  head.  The  first  is 
the  most  probable  supposition,  and  it 
naturally  suggests  the  inquiry  how  it 
could  be  wrong  for  Moses  to  pray  under 
these  circumstances?  Does  not  God 
himself  say,  Ps.  4.  1.5,  'Call  upon  me 
in  the  day  of  trouble  ;  I  will  deliver 
thee  and  thou  shalt  glorify  me.'  To 
this  it  may  be  answered,  that  in  the 
present  case  there  was  no  occasion  to 
cry  to  the  Lord  ;  for  he  had  already 
manifested  so  decidedly  that  he  was 
determined  to  deliver  his  people,  that 
neither  tliey  nor  Moses  ought  to  have 
had  a  doubt  about  it.  And  again,  this 
was  no  time  for  prayer.  There  was 
something  else  to  be  instantly  done.  It 
was  the  time  for  him  and  them  to  act. 
'  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel  that 
they  go  forward.'  Let  us  remember 
that  every  thing  is  beautiful  in  its  season. 
Times  there  often  are  when  it  is  proper 
and  necessary  that  we  should  enter  our 


and  divide  it :  and  the  children 
of  Israel  sliall  go  on  dry  irround 
through  the  midst  of  the  sea. 

17  And  1,  behold,  I  will  u  harden 
the  hearts  of  the  Egyptians,  and 
they  shall  follow  them :  and  I  will 

u  ver.  S.  cl).7.3. 


chambers,  and  shut  the  door  upon  us, 
and  commune  with  our  own  hearts  and 
with  God — often  times  when  it  might  be 
well  for  us  even  to  spend  wliole  niglits 
in  prayer — often  also  sudden  emergen- 
cies wlien  we  must  cry  with  our  whole 
souls  to  God.  But  there  are  other  times 
when  we  are  required  to  exert  ourselves 
actively,  and  to  show  our  faith  in  the 
promises  of  God  by  entering  without 
fear  or  care  or  delay  into  tlie  greatest 

straits  and  dangers. IT  Speak  unto  the 

children  of  Israel,  that  thcygoforivard. 
Though  the  sea  was  directly  before 
them,  and  its  depths  seemed  utterly  to 
deny  them  a  passage,  yet  as  the  power 
that  made  the  sea  bade  them  advance, 
it  was  certain  that  he  would  either  di- 
vide, or  congeal,  or  exhaust  it,  so  tliat 
it  should  offer  no  obstruction  to  their 
crossing.  This  is  no  strange  language 
to  the  Christian.  In  the  most  difficult 
and  appalling  circumstances,  the  com- 
mand is  often  to  be  heard  by  us,  'Go 
forward.'  Though  there  may  be  moun- 
tains of  opposition,  or  waves  of  trouble, 
or  seas  of  danger,  in  the  path  of  duty, 
yet  the  word  is  'Go  forward.'  Faith 
has  its  most  perfect  work  in  the  hour 
of  darkness.  Follow  its  guidance  and 
'  a  way  shall  be  made  in  the  sea,  and  a 
path  in  the  mighty  waters.' 

16.  Lift  thou  up  thy  rod — and  divide 
it.  Heb.  'T^'SX^I  bekaihu,  cleave  it.  Gr. 
pri^ov  avrrjv,  rend  it.  No  efficacy  of 
course  is  to  be  attributed  on  this  or  any 
former  occasion  to  the  rod,  or  even  to 
Moses,  in  producing  an  effect  to  which 
Omnipotence  alone  was  competent.  But 
it  was  proper  that  Moses  as  an  instru- 
ment should  appear  conspicuous  in  the 
transaction,   in  order  that  God  might 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XrV. 


177 


5^'  sfct  me  lionoiir  upon  Pharaoh,  and 
upon  all  his  host,  upon  his  chariots, 
and  upon  his  horsemen. 

IS  And  the  E2:yptians  y  shall  know- 
that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  have 
srotten  nic  honour  upon  Pharaoh, 
upon  his  chariots,  and  upon  his 
horsemen. 

19  II  And  the  an^el  of  God  ^  which 
went  before  the  camp  of  Israel,  re- 
moved, and  went  behind  them  ;  and 
the  pillar  of  the  cloud  went  from 
before  their  face,  and  stood  behind 
them: 

X  ver.  4.  y  ver.  4.  e  ch.  13.  21.  &  23.  2(J.  & 
32.  34.     Numb.  20.  16.    Isai.  63.  9. 


thus  givv?  1  aow  attestation,  in  the  sight 
of  the  whole  host,  to  the  authority  with 
which  he  was  clothed,  in  order  to  se- 
cure for  him  a  suitable  degree  of  re- 
spect, honor,  and  obedience  in  all  their 
subsequent  relations, 

19.  And  the  angel  of  God — removed, 
&c.  T!\c  Israelites  were  still  in  tiieir 
encampment,  waiting  with  trembling  so- 
licitude the  crisis  of  their  fate.  What 
must  have  been  their  astonishment  to 
see,  all  at  once,  the  pillar  of  the  cloud, 
which  was  in  front  of  them,  move  round 
in  silent  majesty  through  the  air,  and 
take  its  place  in  their  rear  .'  'The  glory 
of  the  Lord  became  their  rere-wardi' 
Yet  it  appears  that  some  delay  was  still 
to  occur  before  they  began  to  enter  upon 
the  bed  of  the  sea,  as  a  strong  east  wind 
was  to  be  raised,  and  by  its  action  the 
waters  so  disposed  of  as  to  facilitate 
the  passage.  As  to  the  relation  of  the 
terms  'Angel  of  God'  and  '  lullar  of  the 
cloud,'  see  the  Remarks  at  the  close  of 
the  preceding  chapter. 

20.  It  traJi  a  cloud  and  darkness  to 
them,6Mt'  it  gave  light  by  night  to  these. 
Tlie  supplementary  words  in  our  version 
show  that  the  Hebrew  here  is  elliptical. 
The  sense,  however,  is  undoubtedly cor- 
rectly  rendered.  Chal.  'It  was  an  ob- 
scure cloud  to  the  Egyptians,  but  a  light 
during  all  the  uiglit  to  the  Israelites.' 


20  Audit  came  between  the  camp 
of  the  Egyptians  and  the  camp  of 
Israel;  and  ait  was  a  cloud  and 
darkness  to  them,  but  it  gave  lighi 
by  night  to  these:  so  that  the  one 
came  not  near  the  other  all  the 
night, 

21  And  Moses  ^  stretched  out  his 
hand  over  the  sea;  and  the  Lord 
caused  the  sea  [ogohfu'k  by  a  strong 
east  wind  all  that  night,  and  c  made 
the  sea  dry  land,  and  the  waters 
were  d  divided. 

.1  See  Isai.  8.  14.  2  Cor.  4.  3.  b  ver.  16 
c  Ps.  66.  6.  <1  ch.  15.  8.  Josh.  3.  16.  &  4.  23. 
Nell.  9.  11.  Ps.  74.  13.  &  106.  a.  &  114.  3. 
Isai.  63.  12 


Jerus.  Targ.  'It  was  a  cloud  half  lucid 
and  half  dark  -,  the  light  gave  light  imto 
Israel,  and  the  darloiess  gave  darkness 
unto  the  Eg^'ptians.'  Thus  the  word  and 
the  providences  of  God  have  a  two-fold 
aspect,  a  black  and  dark  side  towards 
sin  and  sinners,  a  bright  and  pleasant 
side  towards  those  that  are  Israelites 
indeed.  On  the  former  the  Most  High 
looks  frowningly  in  wrath ;  on  the  lat- 
ter his  countenance  shines  brightly  with 
favor.  That  which  is  a  savor  of  life 
unto  life  to  the  one,  is  a  savor  of  death 
unto  death  to  the  other.  The  distinc- 
tion thus  made  in  this  respect  betweea 
the  two  hosts  is  a  prejntimation  of  the 
eternal  distinction  which  will  be  made 
between  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in 
light,  and  that  utter  darkness  which  will 
for  ever  be  the  ])ortion  of  hypocrites. 

21.  The  Lord  caused  the  sea  to  go  back 
by  a  strong  cast  vind.  Heb.  d'^lp  HI'lD 
MT5>  beruak  kadim  azzah.  The  imme- 
diate elU'ct  of  the  stretching  out  of  Mo- 
ses' hand  and  wielding  the  potent  rod, 
was  not  the  division  of  the  waters,  but 
the  raising  of  the  wind,  which  thencefor- 
ward continued  to  blow  through  the 
rest  of  the  night.  The  circumstance, 
as  read  in  our  ver.«ion,  creates  some 
difficulty  in  reconciling  every  part  of 
the  narrative.  .Although  the  origmal 
does  not  necessarily  imjily  that  the  wa- 


178 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1401. 


22  And   «^tlie   children   of  Israel 
weat  into  the  midst   of  the   sea 

e  ver.  29.  ch.  15.  19.    NumI).  33.8.    Ps.6f).  6. 
it,  78. 13.  Isai.  63.  13.  1  Cor.  10. 1.  Hebr.  11. 29. 

ters  'went  back'  from  the  western  shore 
of  the  Gulf,  inasmuch  as  there  is  no 
word  answering  to  '  back,'  yet  there  is 
the  utmost  probability  that  this  was  the 
fact,  as  otherwise  it  would  be  more  na- 
tural to  say  that  the  Lord  caused  the 
waters  '  to  come,'  than  '  to  go.'  But 
how  is  this  to  be  reconciled  with  the  in- 
evitable effects  of  a  strong  east  wind 
acting  upon  the  same  mass  of  waters  ? 
This  would  have  been  to  drive  the  wa- 
ters from  the  eastern  and  heap  them  up 
to  a  great  depth  on  the  western  side, 
where  the  Israelites  were  to  make  their 
entrance.  As  the  sea  was  undoubtedly 
cloven  asunder  by  miraculous  power 
over  and  above  any  effect  produced  by 
the  wind,  it  would  matter  little  to  Om- 
nipotence whether  it  was  swollen  most 
on  the  eastern  or  western  coast.  But 
from  a  comparison  of  all  the  incidents 
•we  rather  infer  that  the  body  of  the 
"waters  had  been  rolled  up  as  it  were  by 
the  force  of  the  wind  from  the  western 
to  the  eastern  side  of  the  sea,  and  that 
it  was  through  this  agglomerated  fluid 
mass  that  the  passage  was  opened.  To 
this  view  of  the  subject  it  will  of  course 
be  objected  that  the  wind  in  question  is 
expressly  said  to  have  been  the  east 
wind.  But  we  reply  that  the  original 
term  S'^lp  kadim,  has  rather  a  generic 
than  a  specific  import,  and  denotes  any 
uncommonly  strong  or  violent  wind., 
from  whatever  quarter  it  blows.  Ac- 
cordingly it  is  rendered  by  the  Vulg.  in 
this  very  ])a8sage,  'a  vehement  and  burn- 
ing wind,'  and  Rosenmuller  adduces  the 
following  passages  as  confirming  the 
above  interpretation:  Ps.  48.  7,  'Thou 
breakest  the  sliips  of  Tarshish  with  an 
east  wind  (!D"'"ip)  ;'  i.  e.  as  expressly 
rendered  in  the  Gr.ci/  TtvenjtaTi  /3i<ii(.<,  with 
aviolcntwind.  Ezek.27.26,  'Thyrow- 
ers  have  brought  thee  into  great  waters : 


upon  the  dvy  ground:  and  the  wa- 
ters jt-ere  fa  wall  unto  them  on  their 
right  hand,  and  on  their  left. 

f  Ilab.  3.  10. 


the  east  wind  (D">lp)  hath  broken  thee 
in  the  midst  of  the  seas  ;'  i.e.  any  kind 
of  fierce  and  tempestuous  wind.  So  Job, 
27.  20,21,  speaking  of  the  wicked  rich 
man;  'Terrors  take  hold  on  him  as 
waters,  a  tempest  st  aleth  him  away  in 
the  night.  The  east  wind  (D"i~p)  car- 
rieth  him  away,  and  he  departeth  ;  and 
as  a  storm  hurleth  him  out  of  his  place.' 
Here  it  can  only  be  by  a  rhetorical  figure 
that  any  particular  wind  is  specified. 
The  idea  is  obviously  that  of  violent 
wind  in  general.  Comp.  Jer.  18.  17,  and 
Is.  27.  8,  in  the  latter  of  which  places 
C^lp  cast  wind  is  made  synonymous 

with  \lT21p  m")  rough  wind. IT  Were 

divided.  Heb.  l^pD*  yihbake-u,  were 
cloven,  were  violently  sundered  ;  usual- 
ly applied  to  the  cleaving  or  splitting 
of  rocks,  wood,  the  earth,  or  solid  sub- 
stances in  general,  and  consequently  a 
term  not  well  suited  in  itself  to  describe 
the  effects  of  the  wind. 

22.  The  children  of  Israel  went  into, 
&c.  From  the  calm  and  unimpassioned 
tone  of  the  narrative,  we  should  scarcely 
imagine  that  the  writer  was  describing 
one  of  the  most  stupendous  miracles 
ever  wrought  in  the  view,  or  for  the 
benefit,  of  mortals.  While  the  immense 
congregation  stands  in  mute  expecta- 
tion, with  its  countless  eyes  fastened 
on  Moses  and  Aaron,  whose  movements 
would  be  a  signal  for  their  own,  these 
venerated  leaders  advanced  together  in- 
to the  luitrodden  path,  and  at  once  the 
yielding  waters  divide,  and  contrary  to 
all  the  laws  of  fluids  stand  erect  on 
either  hand  like  walls  of  solid  ice!  The 
bed  of  the  sea  appears  between  them, 
and  lost  in  amazement  on  this  high- 
I  way  of  the  Lord's  ransomed  they  pass 
through  dry-shod  and  reach  in  safety  the 
I  opposite  shore  !  'The  waters  saw  thee, 
!  0  God,  the  waters  saw  thee  j  they  were 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


179 


23  H  And  the  Egyptians  pursued, 
and  went  in  after  tliem,  to  the  midst 


afraid:  the  depths  also  were  troubled. 
Thy  way  is  in  the  sea,  and  thy  path  in 
the  great  waters,  and  thy  footsteps  are 
not  knowo.  Thou  leddest  thy  people 
like  a  flock  by  the  hand  of  iMoscs  and 
Aaron.'     Ps.  77.  1&— 20. 

23.  And  the  Egyptians  pursued,  &c. 
It  is  by  no  means  clear  that  the  Egypt- 
ians knew  or  thought  they  were  follow- 
ing the  Israelites  into  the  bed  of  the  sea. 
Considering  the  darkness  additional  to 
that  of  the  night,  which  had  been  super- 
induced between  the  pursuers  and  the 
pursued,  it  is  not  probable  that  they  had 
any  clear  perception  of  the  course  in 
which  they  were  moving,  and  least  of 
all  that  they  imagined  themselves  trav- 
elling on  the  bared  bed  of  the  divided 
waters.  They  could  hear  the  noise  of 
the  flying  host  before  them,  and  could 
see  confusedly  a  little  way  about  their 
feet,  but  in  all  likelihood  were  utter- 
ly unable  to  distinguish  the  localities 
around  them,  and  may  even  have  thought 
that  they  were  following  the  Israelites 
up  the  valley  of  Bedea  on  their  return 
to  Egypt.  But  by  the  time  the  day 
broke  they  became  aware  of  their  con- 
dition, and  a  fearful  discovery  did  it 
prove  to  them. 

We  may  here  remark  that  although 
the  precise  place  of  the  Israelites'  cross- 
ing the  western  Gulf  of  the  Red  Sea  is 
by  many  writers  placed  higher  up  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Suez,  yet  to  our 
mind  the  evidence  decidedly  predomi- 
nates in  favor  of  a  point  some  ten  or 
twelve  miles  farther  south.  It  is  true 
that  Niebuhr,  Leclerc,  Rosenmuller, 
Prof  Robinson,  and  others,  advocate  the 
claims  of  the  former  locality,  but  after 
the  thorough  canvassing  of  their  argu- 
ments b)'-  the  Editor  of  the  Pictorial 
Bible,  we  cannot  refuse  our  assent  to  the 
conclusions  to  which  he  comes  in  the 
following  Note  on  Ex.  14.  2:  'Let  us 
then  proceed  down  the  valley  between 


of  the  sea,  even  all  Pharaoh's  horses, 
his  chariots,  and  his  horsemen. 

the  mountains  and  the  sea,  which  we 
have  supposed  the  Israelites  to  have 
taken.  At  the  distance  of  about  fifteen 
miles  below  Suez,  occurs  Ras  (Cape) 
Addagi  projecting  into  the  sea,  and 
which  is  formed  by  the  termination  of 
a  cluster  of  hills  about  five  miles  in 
length,  which  now  interpose  on  the  left 
between  the  valley  and  the  sea,  so  that 
the  road  in  this  part  has  mountains  on 
either  hand  for  several  miles.  Was  the 
entrance  of  this  defile  the  mouth  of  the 
Hiroth,  or  pass,  before  which  the  He- 
brews encamped  ?  The  cape  on  the  op- 
posite coast  is  called  Ras  (Cape)  Moses, 
and  near  this  are  the  Fountains  of  Mo- 
ses (Ain  Mousa),  which  one  of  the  most 
distinct  traditions  points  out  as  the  scene 
of  the  miracle.  The  claims  of  Ain 
Mousa  above  Suez  in  the  present,  and 
indeed  in  any,  state  of  the  gulf,  are, 
that  if  the  Israelites  crossed  here,  they 
must  have  been  more  comjdetely  '  shut 
in'  than  at  Suez,  between  the  mountains, 
the  wilderness,  and  the  sea — that  it  is 
far  enough  from  the  bottom  of  the  gulf 
to  account  for  the  Egyptians  not  going 
round  to  intercept  them  as  they  came 
up  from  the  sea — that  the  waters  being 
here  deeper  and  broader,  the  miracle 
would  be  the  more  cons])icuous  and  un- 
questionable, and  at  the  same  time  the 
waters  would  be  the  more  adequate  to 
overwhelm  the  Egyptian  host  ;  while 
still  the  channel  is  not  too  broad  for 
the  Hebrew  host  to  pass  through  in  a 
single  night.  It  is  true  that  Dr.  Shaw 
does  not  think  the  water  deep  enough 
even  here  ;  but  there  is  every  reason  to 
conclude  that  the  water  was  deeper 
formerly  than  at  present,  and  the  same 
objection  certainly  applies  with  still 
greater  force  to  the  passage  at  Suez. 
Let  us  however  proceed  southward,  and 
having  traversed  tlie  pass,  and  continued 
our  course  along  the  shore,  we  come  to 
an  expansion  or  bay,  forming  the  mouth, 


180 


EXODUS. 


[B.C.  1491. 


24  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  in 
the  morning- watch  g  the  LoRDU:)ok- 
ed  unto  the  host  of  the  Egyptians 

S  See  Ps.  77.  17,  &c. 

towards  the  Red  Sea,  of  a  valley  or 
opening  in  the  mountains,  which  is  here 
called  Badea,  and  also  IVady  Tyh,  or 
'  the  Valley  of  Wandering,'  and  which, 
under  the  various  names  of  Wady  Ram- 
Ha,  Derb  Towarek,  Wady  Jendeli,  &c. 
extends  from  the  Nile  to  the  Red  Sea, 
and  through  which  a  canal  of  commu- 
nication seems  to  have  formerly  ran. 
Was  this  the  Hiroth,  or  pass,  before  or 
in  the  mouth  of  which  the  Israelites  en- 
camped, and  from  which  they  afterwards 
made  their  famous  passage  ?  Many  good 
authorities  are  of  this  opinion  ;  and  it 
deserves  to  be  mentioned  that  D'Anville 
and  Major  Rennel  concur  in  fixing  the 
town  of  Clysma  at  this  spot.  Certainly 
no  body  of  men  could  be  more  effectu- 
ally shut  in  than  in  this  bay  of  Badea. 
There  are  many  indications  that  an  arm 
of  the  sea,  now  filled  up,  stretched  a 
considerable  way  into  the  opening  at 
this  place,  and  must  have  prevented  all 
further  progress  to  the  south ;  and  if 
such  progress  had  not  been  thus  pre- 
vented, it  would  be  so  by  the  mountains 
of  Ghobede,  which  bound  the  bay  and 
valley  on  the  south,  and  which,  with 
their  continuations,  stand  out  so  close  to 
the  sea  as  to  preclude  the  continuation 
of  the  march  along  the  shore.  There 
was  therefore  no  retreat  but  through  the 
sea,  or  back  to  Egypt  through  the  val- 
ley;  and,  on  the  hypothesis  that  there 
was  then,  as  at  present,  a  practicable 
road  through  this  valley  between  the 
Red  Sea  and  the  Nile,  we  hazard  a  cour 
jecture,  that  it  was  Pharaoh's  intention 
to  drive  them  back  before  him  through 
this  valley.  As  names  and  traditions, 
on  one  side  of  the  sea,  point  the  egress 
of  the  Hebrews  at  Ain  Mousa — as,  on 
the  other  side,  the  same  authorities 
place  the  ingress  at  Badea — and  as  it  is 
necessary  to  assume  that  the  opening 


through  the  pillar  of  fire  and  of  the 
cloud,  and  troubled  the  host  of  the 
Egyptians, 


was  most  extensive,  we  might  hazard  a 
conjecture  that  the  whole  opening  ex- 
tended from  about  Ain  Mousa  to  op- 
posite Badea.  We  must  again  repeat, 
however,  that  not  the  least  stress  is  to 
be  laid  on  the  unsupported  traditions  of 
the  natives.  Ain  Mousa  is  only  one 
out  of  many  places  which  they  indicate 
as  the  point  of  passage.  Perhaps  the 
place  which  both  Arabian  and  Egyptian 
traditions  most  strongly  indicate  is  the 
large  bay  called  Birkct  Faroun  (Pha- 
raoh's Pool),  about  the  29th  parallel  of 
latitude.  The  Avaters  of  this  bay  are  in 
continual  commotion,  which  the  natives 
think  to  be  occasioned  by  the  unquiet 
spirits  of  the  drowned.  But  the  passage 
cannot  reasonably  be  fixed  here  or  any 
where  else  below  Wady  Gharendel  at 
the  lowest :  for  not  only  does  the  gulf 
from  thence  downward  become  too  wide 
to  have  been  crossed  by  such  a  body  as 
the  host  of  Israel  in  one  night,  but  the 
shore,  which  till  thereabout  is  low  and 
sandy,  then  becomes  rocky  and  moun- 
tainous, while  that  on  the  Egyptian  side 
is  still  more  impracticable — affording 
a  convenient  place  neither  for  the  in- 
gress  nor  egress  of  such  a  multitude. 
Upon  the  whole,  we  should  think  the 
claims  of  Ain  Mousa  far  preferable  to 
those  ofSuez,  and  those  of  Badea  at  least 
equal  to  those  of  Ain  Mousa.'  Pict. 
Bible. 

24.  In  the  morning  vatch.  The  Jews 
divided  the  whole  night  from  sun-set- 
ting till  sun-rising,  into  three  watches, 
consisting  each  of  four  hours.  The  morn- 
ing watch  began  at  two  in  the  morning 

and  ended  about  six. H  Looked  unto 

the  host  of  the  Egyptians  through  the 
pillar  of  fire  and  of  the  cloud.  Heb. 
ni^Dyn  he-ammud;  in  or  by  the  pillar; 
i.  e.  by  means  of  it.  The  original  word 
for  'looked,'  as  applied  to  God,  denotes 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


181 


25  And  took  off  their  chariot-  j  26  H  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
wheels,  that  they  drave  them  heav-  ses,  i  Stretch  out  thine  hand  over 
ily:  so  that  the  Egyptians  said,  |  the  sea,  that  the  waters  may  come 
Let  us  flee  from  the  face  of  Israel;    again  upon  the   Egyptians,   upoa 


for  the  Lord  ''  ligliteth  for  them 
against  the  Egyptians. 

h  ver.  14. 

not  a  simple  and  bare  act  of  ocular  in- 
spection, but  also  a  positive  putting 
forth  of  some  demonstration  of  wrath 
or  mere)'  corresponding  with  the  occa- 
sion. Thus  Ps.  102.  19,  20,  'For  he  hath 
looked  down  from  the  height  of  his 
sanctuarj- ;  from  heaven  did  the  Lord 
behold  the  earth  ;  to  hear  the  groaning 
of  the  prisoner,  to  loose  those  that  are 
appointed  to  death ;'  i.  e.  his  looking 
down  consisted  in  his  interposition  in 
behalf  of  the  afflicted.  Deut.  26.  15, 
*Look  down  from  thy  holy  habitation, 
from  heaven,  and  bless  thy  people  ;' 
i.  e.  look  down  by  blessing.  So  here 
the  Lord's  *  looking'  is  explained  by 
what  follow^s,  viz.  his  'troubling'  them. 
We  suppose  the  fact  to  have  been  that 
the  side  of  the  pillar  of  cloud  toward 
the  Egyptians  was  suddenly  and  for  a 
few  moments  illuminated  with  a  blaze 
of  light,  which  coming  as  it  were  in  a 
refulgent  flash  upon  the  dense  darkness 
which  had  preceded,  so  frightened  the 
horses  of  the  pursuers  that  they  rushed 
confusedly  together,  dasliing  the  wheels 
of  one  chariot  furiously  against  those 
of  another,  upsetting,  breaking,  and 
tearing  them  from  their  axles,  while  the 
horses  themselves,  floundering  in  pools, 
or  sinking  in  quicksands,  were  thrown 
into  inextricable  confusion,  and  thus 
became  an  easy  prey  to  the  returning 
waves.  In  the  mean  time,  as  is  evident 
from  the  words  of  the  Psalmist,  Ps.  77. 
17,  18,  the  elements  were  wrought  into 
a  fearful  commotion,  which  redoubled 
the  horrors  of  the  scene;  'The  clouds 
poured  otit  water,  the  skies  sent  out  a 
sound  ;  thine  arrows  also  went  abroad. 
The  voice  of  thy  thunder  was  in  the 
heavens  ;  thy  liglitnings  lightened  the 
Vol..  I  Ifi 


their  chariots,  and  upon  their  horse- 
men. 


world  ;  the  earth  trembled  and  shook.' 
With  this  agrees  the  description  of  Jo- 
sephus  ;  '  Showors  of  rain  also  came 
down  from  the  sky,  and  dreadful  thun- 
der and  lightning,  with  flashes  of  fire. 
Thunderbolts  also  were  darted  upon 
them  ;  nor  was  there  any  thing  which 
God  sends  upon  men  as  indications  of 
his  wrath,  which  did  not  happen  at  this 
time.'  The  complicated  horrors  of  the 
scene  can  neither  be  described  nor  ima- 
gined. It  was  evident  beyond  all  dis- 
pute that  the  Lord  God  Almighty  fought 
against  them,  and  the  lighting  down  of 
his  arm  who  could  w  ithstand  ?  Officers 
and  soldiers,  Pharaoh  and  his  com- 
manders, were  alike  terror-stricken,  and 
one  universal  thrill  of  panic  and  dismay 
pervaded  the  host  of  the  Egyptians. 
'Let  us  flee,'  was  the  cry  that  resounded 
in  every  direction,  through  the  broken 
and  trembling  ranks,  but,  alas,  it  was 
now  too  late.  All  attempts  at  flight 
were  vain.  The  day  of  forbearance  was 
passed.  The  measure  of  their  iniquity- 
was  full.  The  tyrant  and  his  ])eople 
had  hardened  themselves  in  rebellion 
against  God  till  his  patience  was  ex- 
hausted, and  the  day  of  vengeance  was 
come.  They  are  first  frightened  into 
despair,  and  then  plunged  into  destruc- 
tion.  IT    The  Egyptians  said,  &c. 

Heb.  t"i^:2?2  1'ni^^']  va-yomer  Mitz- 
raim.  Egypt,  or  the  Egyptian,  said,  Let 
us  flee  ;  indicating  that  they  were  as 
unanimous  in  making  this  declaration, 
as  if  they  had  been  but  one  man.  But 
they  were  like  persons  oppressed  with 
the  nightmare  in  their  sleep,  who  would 
fain  fly  from  the  impending  danger  that 
presses  upon  them,  but  carmot.  An 
invisible  power  fixes  them  to  the  spot. 


182 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


27  And  Moses  stretched  forth  his 
hand  over  the  sea,  and  the  sea  ''re- 
turned to  his  strength  when  the 
morning  appeared  ;  and  the  Egyp- 
tians lied  against  it;  and  the  Lokd 
1  overthrew  the  Egyptians  in  the 
midst  of  the  sea. 

28  And  'Uhe  waters  returned, 
and  n  covered  the  chariots,  and  the 
liorsemen,  find  all  the  host  of  Pha- 
raoh that  came  into  the  sea  after 

k  Josh.  4.  18.  1  ch.  15.  1,  7  m  Hab.  3.  8, 
13.     nps.  106.  11. 

27.  And  Moses  stretched  forth  his 
hand,  &c.  The  rod  of  Moses  is  again 
stretched  over  the  sea,  and  it  returns  to 
its  strength.  Those  very  waters  which 
had  guarded  the  passage  of  Israel,  again 
obey  the  suspended  law  of  gravitation, 
and  rushing  down  upon  the  heads  of  the 
Egj'ptians  with  overwhelming  force  en- 
gulph  them  all  beyond  the  power  or 
possibility  of  escape.  Prostrated  by  the 
fury  of  the  resistless  flood,  wave  after 
wave  passing  over  them,  they  pierce 
the  air  with  the  shrieks  of  hopeless  an- 
guish, and  in  all  their  multitudes  are 
buried  beneath  the  deep,  which  roared 
in  closing  upon  them  like  a  ravenous 
beast  over  his  prey.  'The  sea  covered 
them  ;  they  sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty 
waters.'  The  same  element  is  the  de- 
fence of  the  one,  and  the  destroyer  of 
the  other.  Not  an  Israelite  perished, 
not  an  Egyptian  survived.  What  an 
awful  retribution  upon  the  incorrigible 
king  and  people  who  had  hardened  them- 
selves against  God,  bidding  defiance  to 
his  demands,  his  threatenings,  his  judg- 
ments !  Here  he  lies  with  all  his  host, 
men,  horses,  and  chariots,  merged  in 
one  common  watery  grave,  as  a  per- 
petual monument  of  the  folly  of  rebel- 
lious man,  and  the  just  wrath  of  offend- 
ed heaven  ! IT  The  Lord  overthrew 

the  Egyptians,  Heb.  "l^D"^  yenair, 
shook  off.  That  is,  cast  away,  rid  him- 
self of.  The  force  of  the  original  may 
be  better  understood  from  the  following 


them  :  there  remained  not  so  much 
as  one  of  tliem. 

29  But  o  the  children  of  Israel 
walked  upon  dry  land  in  the  midst 
of  the  sea ;  and  the  waters  were  a 
wall  unto  them  on  their  right  hand, 
and  on  their  left. 

30  Thus  the  Lord  p  saved  Israel 
that  day  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
Egyptians:  and  Israel  qsaw  the 
Egyptians  dead  upon  the  sea-shore. 

over.  22.  Ps.  77.  20.  &  78.  52,  53.  P  Ps. 
106.  8,  10.     q  Ps.  58.  10.  &  59.  10. 


examples  of  its  use.  Nehem.  5.  13, 
'Also  I  shook  my  lap  and  said,  So  God 
shake  out  every  man  from  his  house 
that  performeth  not  this  promise,  even 
thus  be  he  shaken  out.'  Job,  38,  13 
'That  it  might  take  hold  of  the  ends  of 
the  earth  that  the  wicked  might  be 
shaken  out  of  it.'  The  same  original 
word  occurs,  Ps.  136.  15,  in  allusion  to 
this  same  event,  though  translated  as 
here  'overthrow.'  So  absolutely  and 
utterly  was  the  power  of  this  guilty 
nation  now  broken  and  destroyed,  that 
although  the  camp  of  Israel  was  pitched 
within  a  little  distance  of  Egypt,  during 
the  space  of  forty  years,  yet  no  pursuit 
was  attempted  against  them,  no  future 
effort  made  to  subdue  and  enslave  them. 
30.  Israel  saw  the  Egyptians  dead 
upon  the  sea-shore.  Heb.  ri!!<  l^^^"^ 
n^  l3'^'n^?2  yiru  eth  Mitzrayim  mith, 
saw  Egypt,  or  the  Egyptians,  a  corpse  ; 
the  whole  nation  spoken  of  as  one  indi- 
vidual. This  was  ordered  at  once  for 
the  greater  disgrace  of  the  Egyptians, 
and  the  greater  triumph  of  the  Israel- 
ites. However  superstitiously  nice  and 
curious  that  people  were  in  embalming 
and  preserving  the  bodies  of  their  great 
men,  and  whatever  horror  was  inspired 
by  their  religion  at  the  idea  of  lying 
unburied  till  their  bodies  were  con- 
sumed, still  that  dreaded  doom  was 
here  allotted  them,  and  the  utmost  coa- 
tempt  thus  poured  upon  the  nobles  of 
Egypt.    In  short,  it  was  little  else  than 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


183 


31  And  Israel  saw  that  great  work 
which  the  Lord  did  upon  the  Egyp- 
tians: and  the  people  feared  the 

dragging  out  the  dead  body  of  the  slain 
Egyptian  dragon  from  the  waters  and 
proclaiming  over  it,  'I  will  leave  thee 
upon  the  land,  I  will  cast  thee  fortli 
upon  the  open  field,  and  will  cause  all 
the  fowls  of  ihc  heaven  to  remain  upon 
thee,  and  I  will  fill  the  beasts  of  the 
whole  earth  with  thee.'  Ezok.  32.  4. 
It  is  perhaps  in  aUusion  to  this  that  we 
read,  Rev.  19.  17,  IS,  'And  I  saw  an 
angel  standing  in  the  sun  ;  and  he  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  saying  to  all  the 
fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven. 
Come,  and  gather  yourselves  together 
unto  the  supper  of  the  great  God  ;  that 
ye  may  eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  the 
flesh  of  captains,  aud  the  flesh  of  mighty 
men,  and  the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of 
them  that  sit  on  them,  and  the  flesh  of 
all  men,  both  free  and  bond,  both  small 
and  great.'  Such  a  result  would  also 
heighten  the  expression  of  the  divine 
favor  towards  Israel,  and  more  deeply 
affect  their  hearts  with  their  great  de- 
liverance. They  probably  stripped  the 
bodies  of  the  slain,  and  thus  possessed 
themselves  of  a  mass  of  treasure  which 
they  were  afterwards  able  to  apply  to 
the  furnishing  of  the  tabernacle.  Nothing 
can  be  more  striking  than  the  manner 
in  which  these  incidents  are  figuratively 
set  forth  by  the  Psalmist,  Ps.  74.  13,  14, 
^  Thou  didst  divide  the  sea  by  thy 
strength  :  thou  brakest  the  heads  of  the 
dragons  in  the  waters.  Thou  brakest 
the  heads  of  leviathan  in  pieces,  and 
gavest  him  to  be  meat  to  the  people  in- 
habiting the  wilderness.' 

31.  Israel  saw  that  great  work.  Heb. 
n^ian  T^n  rx  eth  ha-yad  haggedolah, 
that  great  hand  ■  or  as  the  Chal.  ex- 
pressively renders  it,  'The  power  of  the 
great  hand.'  The  import  is  plainly  that 
of  an  amazing  display  of  the  divine 
omnipotence,  it  was  scarcely  neces- 
sar}'^  to  pray  for  them  in  the  language 


Lord,  and  r  believed  the  Lord,  and 
his  servant  Moses. 

r  oil.  4.  31.  &  I'J.  9.     Ps,  100.  12.     John.  2. 
I1.&  11.  'k'i. 


of  David,  Ps.  109.  27,  'That  Ihey  may 
know  that  this  is  thy  hand,  that  thou, 
Lord,  hast  done  it.'  Conviction  of  this 
truth  was  now  wrought  in  the  depths  of 
their  souls.  'Deep  answered  unto  deep.' 
The  language  is  very  em])hatic,  that 
they  now  began  in  earnest  to  'fear  tlie 
Lord  and  believe  the  Lord,'  in  view  of 
the  wonders  of  his  mercy  and  his  might, 
and  to  yield  themselves  more  unreserv- 
edly to  the  guidance  of  his  servant 
Moses.  They  were  now  profoundly 
ashamed  of  their  former  distrusts  and 
murmurings,  and  doubtless  were  ready 
to  conclude,  from  their  present  feelings, 
that  they  should  never  relapse  into  a 
complaining  spirit  or  a  disobedient  con- 
duct again.  Infidelity  and  rebellion  are, 
for  a  time  at  least,  banished  from  their 
hearts,  and  '  while  they  believe  his 
word,  they  sing  his  praise  ;'  although 
their  subsequent  demeanor  showed  that 
they  were  still  capable  of  forgetting  and 
slighting  their  heavenly  benefactor. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  preceding  chapter  having  given 
us  an  account  of  the  total  overtlirow 
and  destruction  of  the  Egyptians,  we 
are  informed  in  the  present  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  signal  victory  was 
celebrated.  The  circumstances  which 
called  forth  this  grateful  song  of  praise 
liere  recorded,  were  indeed  unparalleled. 
We  behold  an  immense  congregation 
just  rescued  in  a  marvellous  manner 
from  the  ])ower  of  their  enemies,  stand- 
ing upon  the  shores  of  a  sea  which  was 
then  rolling  its  waves  in  their  usual 
course,  waves  which  had  so  lately  been 
made  to  stand  as  crystal  walls  on  either 
side  of  a  dry  passage,  and  which  had 
again  rushed  together  in  their  might, 
overwhehning  all  the  chariots,  and 
horses,  and  footmen  of  Pharaoh.  There 
they  stand,  seeing  the  shores  of  the  sea 


184 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THEN  sang  »  Moses  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  this  song  unto 
the  Lord,  and  spake,  saying,  I  will 

aJudg.  5.  1.     2  Sam.  22.  1.     Ps.  106.  12. 

strewed  with  the  dead  bodies  of  men 
and  horses,  with  the  broken  pieces  of 
cliariots  and  weapons  of  war  scattered 
in  all  directions,  and  all  the  other 
wrecks  of  that  awful  catastrophe.  There 
they  stand,  safe  and  unhurt,  not  a  fee- 
ble woman,  not  an  infant  child,  not  a 
hoof  of  cattle,  not  an  article  of  proper- 
ty, lost — all  monuments  of  the  mighty 
power  and  distinguishing  favor  of  their 
covenant  God  !  Well  may  they  lift  up 
their  voices  and  sing.  Well  may  they 
bring  the  timbrel  and  harp  to  aid  their 
voices  in  celebrating  the  praises  of  their 
great  deliverer. — It  may  be  remarked, 
by  the  way,  that  here,  as  in  many  other 
instances,  the  Old  Testament  narrative 
has  afforded  the  ground  for  one  of  the 
most  striking  features  of  the  symbolical 
scenery  of  the  Apocalypse,  ch.  15.  2,  3, 
'And  I  saw  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass 
mingled  with  fire ;  and  them  that  had 
gotten  the  victory  over  the  beast,  and 
over  his  image,  and  over  his  mark,  and 
over  the  number  of  his  name,  stand  on 
the  sea  of  glass,  having  the  harps  of 
God.  And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses 
the  servant  of  God,  and  the  song  of  the 
lamb,  saying,  Great  and  marvellous  are 
thy  works.  Lord  God  Almighty  j  just 
and  true  thy  ways,  thou  King  of  saints.' 
The  phrase  'on  the  sea  of  glass'  is,  un- 
doubtedly, more  correctly  rendered  'by 
the  sea  of  glass,'  i.  e.  on  the  shores, 
while  the  mingling  of  the  fire  is  per- 
haps in  allusion  to  the  pillar  of  fire 
which  accompanied  the  marcli  of  the 
Israelites  through  the  Red  Sea,  and 
whose  terrific  flashings  mingled  with 
the  returning  and  roaring  billows  that 
overwhelmed  the  Egyptian  hosts. 

1.  Then  sang  Moses  and  the  children 
of  Israel  this  song,  kc.  Heb.  ^^ffi'i  tX 
az  yashiVy  lit.  then  will  sing.  As  the  verb 


EXODUS.  [B.  C.  1491. 

bsing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  hath 
triumphed  gloriously ;  the  horse 
and  liis  rider  hath  he  thrown  into 
the  sea. 

bver.  21. 


in  the  original  is  in  the  future,  perhaps 
the  suggestion  may  not  be  wholly 
groundless,  that  it  is  hereby  implied 
that  this  song  was  to  serve  as  a  model 
for  the  triumphant  songs  of  the  church 
in  subsequent  ages,  somewhat  as  the 
Lord's  prayer  is  designed  as  a  model 
for  the  prayers  of  his  disciples  in  every 
period  of  the  world.  Accordingly,  we 
find  it  said  of  those,  Rev.  15.  2,  3,  who 
had  obtained  a  victorious  deliverance 
from  the  thraldom  of  the  beast,  that 
they  sung  the  song  of  Moses  and  the 
Lamb,  in  evident  allusion  to  the  sub- 
lime pean  here  recorded.  The  present 
is  the  most  ancient  song  extant  in  any 
language,  as  those  ascribed  to  Linus, 
Musaeus,  and  Orpheus,  have  a  date  of 
three  hundred  years  subsequent  to  this. 
Its  poetical  merits  are  of  the  very  first 
order,  as  we  might  infer  from  the  un- 
doubted fact,  that  it  was  prompted  by 
divine  inspiration,  to  be  sung  on  the 
spot,  and  probably  on  the  very  morning 
of  the  event  which  it  celebrates.  It  is 
alike  remarkable  for  its  grandeur  and 
simplicity,  its  touching  pathos  and  its 
true  sublime.  It  was  probably  sung  in 
alternate  strophes  or  strains,  as  was 
usual  in  all  the  sacred  symphonies  of 
the  ancients. IT  I  will  sing,  &c.  In- 
timating that  although  the  song  was  to 
be  sung  by  the  whole  company,  yet 
each  one  was  to  a])propriate  the  burden 
of  it  to  himself  individually.  The  tri- 
umph of  Israel  over  the  Egyptians  did 
not  resemble  the  usual  triumphs  of  na- 
tion over  nation,  where  the  individual 
is  overlooked  and  lost  in  the  mass. 
Every  thing  here  is  peculiar  and  per- 
sonal. Every  Israelite  for  himself  re- 
flects with  joy  on  his  own  chains  now 
for  ever  broken.  He  seems  to  exult 
over  liis  oivn  tyrant-master  now  sub- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


185 


2  The  Lord  is  my  strength  and 
«-^song,  and  he  is  become  my  salva- 
tion:   he  is   my  God,  and   I  will 

<■  Deut.  10.  21.  Ps.  18.  2.  &  22.  3.  <t  59.  17. 
A  (;2.  6.  &  109.  1.  &  118.  14.  &  140.  7.  Isai. 
12.2.     ilab.  3.  18,  19. 

ducd  under  him,  and  hails  his  own  per- 
sonal liberty  as  fully  recovered. 

IT  Hath  triumphed  gloriously.  Heb. 
{1X3  nj<3  gaoh  gaah,  excelling  he  excel- 
Icth,  or,  he  is  exceedingly  exalted.  Gr. 
evSi^Mi  yao  6c6o^aaTai,  for  he  is  glori- 
ously glorified.  The  leading  idea  of 
the  Hebrew  term  in  this  connexion  is, 
that  of  displaying  grandeur,  preemi- 
nence, magnificence.  It  is  perhaps  pri- 
marily applied,  in  a  physical  sense,  to 
corporeal  objects  which  grandly  raise 
and  rear  themselves  up,  as  towering 
trees  and  swelling  waves  (Ezek.  47.  5); 
and  thence,  in  mental  relations,  denot- 
ing elation,  self -exaltation,  whether  in 
a  good  or  bad  sense.  As  used  here  in 
reference  to  God  there  can  be  no  mis- 
take as  to  its  import.  Chal.  'He  hath 
exalted    himself  above    the    excellent 

ones,  and  excellence  is  his.' ^  The 

horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown 
into  the  sea.  Heb.  n?2*l  ramah,  violent- 
ly cast ,  precipitated,  projected;  a  bold 
and  emphatic  mode  of  expression,  im- 
plying far  more  than  if  he  had  merely 
said  that  he  suffered  them  to  sink  into 
the  sea.  The  expression  is  strikingly 
paralleled  in  Neh.  9.  11,  '  Their  perse- 
cutors thou  threwest  into  the  deeps,  as 
a  stone  into  the  mighty  waters.'  In 
like  manner  the  use  of 'horse'  and  'rider' 
in  the  singular  is  more  emphatic  than 
that  of  'horses'  and  'riders'  in  the  plu- 
ral. It  marks  strongly  the  suddenness, 
the  universality,  the  comi)leteness,  of 
the  destruction.  The  Egyptian  caval- 
ry, numerous  and  formidable,  covering 
the  face  of  the  ground,  is  represented 
as  in  a  moment,  by  a  single  effort,  by 
one  blow,  overthrown,  overwhelmed, 
as  if  they  had  been  but  one  horse  and 
one  rider. 

2.  The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  song. 
16* 


prepare  him  <Jan  habitation;  my 
e  father's  God,  and  I  'Will  exalt 
him. 

d  Gen.  28.  21,  2%  2  Sam.  7.  5.  Ps.  132.  5. 
e  ch.  3.  15,  16.  1  2  Sam.  22.  47.  Ps.  99  5,  <fc 
118.  28.    lsai.25.  1. 

Heb.  rr^  n"l)3n  '^TJ'  ozzi  ve-zimrath 
Yah,  my  strength  and  my  song  is  Jah  ; 
one  of  the  distinguishing  titles  of  the 
Most  High,  a  contraction  of 'Jehovah,' 
occurring  here  for  the  tirst  time  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  seldom  met  with  except 
in  the  poetical  books.  We  find  it  Ps. 
68.  4,  'Extol  him  that  rideth  upon  the 
heavens  by  his  name  Jah.'  It  enters 
also  into  the  composition  of  the  Hebrew 
phrase  rT^  l^iiH  halleluyah,  i.  e. '  Hal- 
lelu,'  praise  ye,  'Jah,'  the  Lord,  which 
is  retained  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  Rev. 
19. 1 — 4,  'And  after  these  things  I  heard 
a  great  voice  of  much  people  in  heaven 
saying.  Alleluia,  &c.'  intimating,  prob- 
ably, by  the  use  of  a  Hebrew  word  that 
at  the  period  alluded  to  in  the  prophecy, 
the  Jewish  nation  shall  have  become 
united  with  the  Cliristian  church,  and 
shall  be  heard  uttering  the  praises  of 
God  in  their  own  language.  By  con- 
fessing that  God  was  their  'strength,' 
they  virtually  abjure  from  themselves 
the  glory  of  the  recent  triumph,  ascrib- 
ing it  solely  to  the  almighty  power  of 
their  great  and  gracious  Deliverer.  No 
instrument  is  to  divide  the  praise  with 
him.  No  power,  no  wisdom,  is  to  be  ac- 
knowledged but  that  of  God  alone. 

IT  My  song.  That  is,  the  subject  of  it. 
ir  My  salvcUion,  That  is,  the  au- 
thor of  it. IT  I  will  prepare  him  a 

habitation.  Chal.  '  I  will  build  him  a 
sanctuary.'  This,  if  the  Chaldee  inter- 
pretation be  correct,  is  a  prophetical 
intimation  of  the  rearing  of  the  sacred 
edifice  of  the  tabernacle.  Some,  how- 
ever maintain  that  the  word  comes  from 
a  root  signifying  to  adorn,  in  which 
case  the  sense  of  the  expression  is,  / 
will  pay  him  becoming  honor.  Thus 
Jarchi ;  'I  will  celebrate  his  beauty  and 
his  praise  to  those  that  shall  come  into 


186 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


3  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  g  war : 
the  Lord  is  his  '» name. 

4  iPharaoh's  chariots  and  his  host 
hath  he  cast  into  the  sea:  ^his 

gPs.  24.  8.  Rev.  19.  11.  h  ch.  6.  3.  Ps. 
83.18.     ich.  14.  28.     ^ch.  14.7. 

the  world.'  Gr.  So^aacj  nvrov,  I  will 
glorify  him.  As  this  honor,  however, 
was  to  consist  mainly  in  the  dedication 
to  him  of  a  place  of  worship,  both  senses 

of  the  term  very  nearly  harmonize. 

IT  My  father's  God.  Heb.  "^ni^  injss^ 
Eloh't  abi,  God  of  my  father;  col.  sing, 
implying  the  entire  line  of  his  paternal 
ancestry.  The  whole  strain  of  the  wri- 
ter is  full  of  affectionate  and  appropri- 
ating recognition  of  God  as  their  God. 
'He  Avhose  greatness  1  adore  is  not  a 
strange  God  unknowTi  till  now,  a  de- 
liverer or  protector  for  a  moment.  No, 
he  is  the  ancient  and  covenant  God  of 
my  family;  his  goodness  is  from  gener- 
ation to  generation.  I  have  a  thousand 
domestic  proofs  of  his  constant,  undi- 
minished affection ;  and  he  is  now  mak- 
ing good  to  me  only  that  which  he 
solemnly  promised  to  my  forefathers.' 
Such  is  the  purport  of  this  grateful 
strain. 

3.  The  Lord  ia  a  man  qfwar.  Heb. 
n?2nil?2  w'^X  ish  milhamah.  That  is, 
mighty  in  battle,  the  achiever  of  great 
victories.  Chal.  'A  victor  of  wars.' 
Gr.  Kvpios  a-vvrpi/S ajf  TroAcjuyuf,  the  Lord 
breaking  wars ;  a  rendering  for  which 
it  is  difficult  to  account,  and  in  respect 
to  which  Cartwright  has  very  plausibly 
suggested  that  TroXt^tovj  wars  is  a  cor- 
rupt reading  for  no'Xeumvi  enemies;  the 
Lord  is  a  breaker-down,  a  prostrater,  of 
all  enemies.  Some  have  thought  there 
was  something  degrading  in  a  form  of 
expression  which  seemed  to  bring  down 
the  Deity  to  the  level  of  a  mere  mortal 
hero  ;  but  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
the  phrase  is  purely  Hebraic,  and  one 
of  the  most  emphatic  of  which  the  lan- 
guage admits  to  denote  excellence  or 
jpreeminence   of  prowess.     Thus    the 


chosen  captains  also  are  drowned 
ki  the  Red  sea. 

5  1  The  depths  have  covered  them : 
m  they  sank  mto  the  bottom  as  a 
stone. 

Ich.  14.  28.     niNeh.9.  11. 


very  same  phrase  occurs  1  Sam.  17.  33; 
as  an  appellation  of  Goliath,  'For  thou 
art  but  a  youth,  and  he  n/3n^?3  TD'^J^  a 
man  of  war  from  his  youth  j'  i.  e.  dis- 
tinguished for  warlike  prowess  and  skill. 
Thus  also  we  find  '  man  of  beauty'  for 
one  exceedingly  fair  and  comely  ;  '  man 
of  words,'  for  an  eloquent  man  ;  '  man 

of  arm,'    for  a  mighty  man,   &c. 

IT  The  Lord  is  his  name.  Heb.  mn^ 
1?2"iI3  Yehovah  shemo,  Jehovah  his  name. 
That  is,  he  hath  shown  his  nature  to  be 
Jehovah,  by  causing  that  actually  to  be 
which  he  had  promised  should  be.  It  is 
as  if  the  speaker  had  said,  'I  cannot 
characterise  the  mighty  Deliverer  so 
well  as  by  his  name  Jehovah,  that  inef- 
fable and  mysterious  title  which  implies 
not  only  the  promise  but  the  perform- 
ance of  every  thing  that  relates  to  the 
well-being  and  happiness  of  his  people.' 
See  Note  on  Ex.  6.  3. 

4.  Hath  he  cast  into  the  sea.  Heb. 
n^'i  yarah ;  a  term  applied  mostly  to 
the  casting,  hurling,  or  discharging 
of  darts  or  arrows.  Accordingly  Aben 
Esra,  a  Jewish  commentator,  remarks 
that  it  is  designed  here  to  imply,  that 
God  cast  the  chariots  and  the  hosts  of 
Pharaoh  into  the  sea  with  as  much  swift- 
ness and  ease  as  one  would  emit  an  ar- 
row from  the  bow. IT    His  chosen 

captains.  Heb.  T^II^Vk-^  iri:3>2  mibhar 
slialishauv,  the  choice  of  his  captains  ; 
i.e.  the  prime,  the  flower,  of  his  chief- 
tains. 

5.  Sank  into  the  bottom  as  a  stone. 
Words  strikingly  expressive  of  tlie  utter 
and  remediless  overthrow  of  the  enemy. 
So  completely  were  they  plunged  into 
the  depth  of  the  sea,  that  they  could  not 
rise  to  the  surface,  being  probably  for 
the  most  part  encumbered  with  heavy 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


187 


6  °  Thy  right  hand,  0  Lord,  is  be- 
come glorious  in  power  :  thy  right 
hand,  O  Lord,  hath  dashed  in  pie- 
ces the  enemy. 

7  And  in  the  greatness  of  thine 
©excellency  thou  hast  overthrown 
them  that  rose  up  against  thee: 

n  Ps.  118.  15,  16.    oDeut.  33.26. 

armor,  which  would  effectually  prevent 
their  rising  or  floating  ;  while  the  guilt 
of  their  sins  weighed  still  more  heavily 
upon  them. 

6.  Thy  right  hand,  &c.  Another  form 
of  expression  for  God's  omnipotence. 
The  right  hand,  being  naturally  the 
strongest  from  heing  most  employed,  is 
used  by  an  apt  metaphor  for  the  liighest 
degree  of  power.  It  is  to  be  remarked 
moreover,  that  the  verb  in  the  original 
is  in  the  future — 'shall  dash  in  pieces' — 
a  remark  which  applies  in  fact  to  most 
of  the  verbs  throughout  the  hymn.  The 
phraseology  is  so  constructed  as  to  car- 
ry with  it  the  implication  that  what  had 
happened  on  this  occasion  to  the  ene- 
mies of  God  would  happen  in  like  man- 
ner in  all  future  time,  as  far  as  utter  dis- 
comfiture and  signal  perdition  was  con- 
cerned. On  the  other  hand,  in  v.  14,  and 
elsewhere,  the  verbs  rendered  in  the  fu- 
ture are  in  Heb.  in  the  past,  to  indi- 
cate the  infallible  certainty  of  the  event 
foretold. 

7.  Overthrow  them  that  rose  up  against 
thee.  Heb.  '1''>3p  kameka,  thy  risers- 
up.  So  near  is  the  relation  between 
God  and  his  people,  that  he  accounts 
what  is  done  to  them  as  done  to  him- 
self.  IT  Thou  sentest  forth  thy  wrath. 

Like  a  dreadful  projectile,  thou  didst 
direct  thy  wrath  against  the  foes  of  Is- 
rael, scattering  desolation  and  death.  It 
quitted  the  guiding  pillar  of  fire,  like  a 
flash  of  lightning  or  like  the  blighting 
blast  of  the  desert,  and  as  cither  withers 
the  grass  or  shrinks  up  the  standing 
com,  so  did  they  fall  prostrate  before 
it,  and  perished  under  the  stroke  of  di- 
vine vengeance.    They  were  of  no  more 


thou  sentest  forth  thy  wrath,  which 
p  consumed  them  <i  as  stubble. 

8  And  r  with  the  blast  of  thy  nos- 
trils the  waters  were  gathered  to- 
gether, s  the  floods  stood  upright  as 

pPs.59.  13.  al.sai.5.  24.  &47.  14.  rch.  14. 
21.  2Sain.  22.  16.  Job. 4.  9:  2Thess.  2.  S. 
s  Ps.  78.  13.    Hab.  3.  10. 


account  in  thy  sight  than  the  useless 
stubble  which  is  consumed  by  the  sweep- 
ing  autumnal  fire. 

8.  With  the  blast  of  thy  nostrils  the 
waters  were  gathered,  &c.  Heb.  m"l3 
"I'^iTJ^  beruah  appi'ka,  with  the  wind,  or 
spirit,  of  thine  anger  ;  the  same  word  in 
the  original  signifying  both  'nostril'  and 
'  anger  ;'  from  the  effect  of  anger  in  m- 
flating  the  nostrils.  This  has  respect 
to  the  stormy  wind  mentioned,  ch.  14. 
26,  27.  Thus  Job,  4.  9,  'By  the  blast 
of  God  they  perish,  and  by  the  breath 
of  his  nostrils  (1DX  nTl?3)  are  they 
consumed.'  So  it  is  said  of  the  '  man 
of  sin/  2  Thes.  2.  S,  that  the  Lord  will 
'consume  him  by  the  spirit  of  his  mouth.' 
Nothing  can  be  grander  than  the  image 
here  employed.  It  implies  that  the 
gathering  together  of  the  mighty  waters 
was  an  immediate  act  of  the  divine  pow- 
er ;  the  poet  representing  the  Deity  as 
emitting  from  his  inflated  nostrils  the 
wind  which  produced  an  effect  never 
before,  nor  since,  witnessed   by   man. 

IT  The  depths  were  congealed.     A 

strong  poetical  expression  not  to  be  un- 
derstood literally,  but  denotiag  that  the 
waters  maintained  themselves  in  an  up- 
right position,  with  as  much  stability  as 
if  they  had  been  converted  to  a  wall  of 
ice.  The  whole  verse  presents  a  beauti- 
ful gradation  of  sense.  The  wac'"rs  were 
not  only  arrested  in  their  channel  and 
ceased  to  flow,  but  were  gathered  to- 
gether; and  not  only  were  they  gathered 
together,  but  they  were  fixed  for  the  time 
in  a  condition  entirely  contrary  to  their 
natural  tendency,  and  made  to  stand  up- 
right like  a  wall  of  masonry,  or  as  firm- 
ly as  if  they  had  been  solidly  congealed. 


188 


EXODUS. 


[B.C.  1491. 


an  heap,  and  the  depths  were  con- 
gealed in  the  heart  of  the  sea. 

9  t  The  enemy  said,  I  will  pursue, 
I  will  overtake',  I  will  "  divide  the 
spoil :  my  lust  shall  be  satisfied 
upon  them ;  I  will  draw  my  sword, 
mine  hand  shall  destroy  them. 


t  Judo:.  5.  30.     u  Gen. 
i-uke  11.  22. 


Isai.  53.  12. 


9.  The  enemy  said,  I  will  pursue,  &c. 
The  destruction  of  the  Egyptians  was 
more  remarkable  by  reason  of  the  pride 
and  insolence  which  they  displayed,  and 
their  strong  assurance  of  success.  The 
contrast  between  the  confidence  and  ela- 
tion of  the  pursuit,  and  the  shame  and 
ignominy  of  their  overthrow,  is  made 
very  impressive.  They  will  not  only 
pursue,  but  they  will  overtake,  and  if 
tliey  overtake  they  have  no  question 
but  they  shall  overcome,  and  obtain 
such  a  decisive  victory  as  to  divide  the 
spoil.  Thus  it  is  that  men  are  often 
never  more  confident  and  presumptuous 
than  when   they  stand  upon   the   very 

brink  of  ruin. IT  My  lust  shall  be 

satisfied  upon  them.  Heb.  1?25^b^tl 
"^ZCD  timlacmo  naphshi,  my  soul  shall 
be  filled  with  them.  See  upon  this  pe- 
culiar signification  of  the  word  '  souP 
the  Note  on  Gen.  23.  8.  The  sentence 
expresses  not  only  an  intense  desire, 
but  a  ruthless  determination,  of  ven- 
geance. The  mere  infliction  of  summary 
punishment  upon  a  fugitive  people  who 
had  quilted  his  dominions  in  opposition 
to  his  will,  is  not  sufiicient  to  satisfy 
the  rage  and  vindictiveness  of  his  spirit. 
He  would  give  them  up  to  slaughter  and 
glut  his  implacable  malice  upon  them. 
He  is  goaded  on  by  a  savage  thirst  of 
blood,  and  by  the  ordinary  retributions 
of  Providence   has  in  the  issue  blood 

given  him  to  the  full. IT  My  hand 

shall  destroy  them.  Or,  Heb.  1)2T2:'i1ir! 
■^T"!  torishi'mo  yadi,  my  hand  shall  re- 
possess them;  i.  e.  bring  them  back  to 
slavery.  The  original  term  'iL-"!'^  yarash 
is  very  peculiar  in  its  import.  The  sense 


10  Thou  didst  »blow  with  thy 
wind,  y  the  sea  covered  them :  they 
sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty  wa- 
ters. 

11  zWho  is  like  unto  thee,  O 
Lord,  among  the  gods  ?  who  is 
like   thee,   a  glorious   in   holiness, 

X  ch.  14.  21.  Ps.  147.  IS.  y  ver.  5.  ch.  14.  28. 
^2Sam.  7.  22.  1  Kings  8.  23.  Ps.  71.  19.  & 
86.  8.  &  89. 6,  8.  Jer.  10.  6.  &  49. 19.  a  Isai.  6.  3. 


of  possession  or  inheriting  is  very  evi- 
dent in  Num.  14.  24,  'Him  will  I  bring 
into  the  land  whereunto  he  went,  and 
he  shall  possess  it  (nrU^T^).'  And 
yet  in  other  cases  the  contrary  sense  of 
disinheriting,  dispossessing,  is  equally 
obvious.  Thus  Num.  14.  12,  'I  will 
smite  them  with  the  pestilence  and  dis- 
inherit (i::r"n5<)  them.'  Josh.  23.  5. 
'And  the  Lord  your  God  he  shall  expel 
them  from  before  you,  and  drive  (ID'^^I) 
them  from  out  of  your  sight.'  So  also 
Deut.  4.  38.  Jud.  1.  19—29.  This  ap- 
parent anomaly  is  to  be  accounted  for 
from  the  fact,  that  the  original,  particu- 
larly in  Hiphil,  signifies  to  inherit  or 
possess  in  consequence  of  dispossessing 
another,  so  that  it  is  plainly  equivalent 
to  driving  out;  and  to  this  the  sense 
of  destroying,  extirpating,  is  closely 
analogous.  The  Greek  here  renders  by 
Kvpievffei  f)  %£«p  fff ,  Tny  hand  shall  have 
dominion,  or  lord  it.  Chal.  *My  hand 
shall  exterminate  them.'  Vulg.  'My 
hand  shall  slay  them.' 

10.  Thou  didst  blow  ivith  thy  wind. 
It  was  a  wind  raised  by  special  divine 
intervention,  not  by  the  ordinary  opera- 
tion of  nature.  It  was  God's  wind  dis- 
tinctly and  preeminently  ;  such  a  wind 
as  caused  the  waters  to  accumulate  and 
remain  for  a  time  stationary,  or  as  the 
sacred  text  expresses  it,  '  to  be  con- 
gealed in  the  heart  of  the  sea.' 

11.  Who  is  like  unto  thee,  0  Lord, 
among  the  gods  ?  Heb.  Q'^^JJ^D  ba-'elinif 
among  the  mighties,  among  the  poten- 
tates. In  these  words  the  superiority 
is  affirmed  of  the  true  God  over  all 
earthly  princes  and  potentates,  and  over 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


189 


fearful  in  praises,  b  doing  won- 
ders? 

b  Ps.  77.  14. 

all  the  false  and  factitious  gods  of 
Egypt.  A  contrast  is  presented  between 
the  omnipotence  of  the  former  and  the 
impotence  of  the  latter  What  were  tlie 
mightiest  of  men  whose  breath  was  in 
their  nostrils  j  what  were  all  the  ani- 
mal and  reptile  divinities  to  which  that 
besotted  people  ofiered  adoration,  that 
they  should  be  so  much  as  named  in 
comparison  with  the  great  and  glorious 
God  of  the  Hebrews,  the  Being  of  be- 
beings,  the  infinite,  the  almighty,  the 

eternal! IT  Glorious  in  holiness.  Heb. 

TD"Ipn  ^li^D  nedar  bakkodesh.  Gr. 
ieSo^aafjEvoi;  ev  ayiois,  glorified  in  the 
holy  ones,  i.  e.  among  the  saints  and 
angels  ;  or,  in  the  holy  things;  i.  e.  in 
holiness.  God  is  glorious  in  that  holi- 
ness and  immaculate  purity  which  con- 
stitute his  perfection.  It  is  an  attri- 
bute which  especially  elicits  the  praises 
of  the  angelic  hosts  in  heaven.  Is.  6.  3, 
and  which  shone  conspicuous  on  the 
present  occasion.  His  holiness,  his  ha- 
tred of  sin,  his  wrath  against  obstinate 
transgressors,  never  appeared  more  re- 
splendently  glorious  than  in  the  des- 
truction of  Pharaoh  in  the  Red  Sea. 
The  msanctified  heart  may  not  respond 
to  this  character  of  the  divine  holiness, 
but  to  the  soul  which  has  been  en- 
lightened from  above  and  gifted  with 
a  spiritual  perception  of  the  things  of 
God,  nothing  appears  so  truly,  so  tran- 
scendently  glorious,  as  this  perfection 
of  the  immaculate  Jehovah.  It  is,  in 
fact,  the  crowning  glory  of  the  God- 
head, and  if  it  do  not  so  appear  to  us, 
■we  have  reason  to  be  concerned  at  its 
relations  to  our  character  and  destiny. 

IT  Fearful  in  praises.     Heb.  &^"11D 

n^nn  nora  tehillothj  terrible,  awful, 
reverend,  as  to  praises,  i.  e.  in  his 
praiseworthy  manifestations  of  himself. 
Thus  the  Apostle,  Philip.  4.  8,  'If  there 
be  3Lny  praise  j'  i.e.  any  thing  praise- 


12  Thou  strelcliedst  out  c  thy  right 
hand,  the  earih  swallowed  them. 


worthy.  Even  in  those  displays  of  his 
perfections,  which  are  matter  of  joyful 
praise  to  his  people,  he  is  dreadful  and 
terrible  to  his  enemies  ;  and  the  con- 
sideration of  this  fact  should  chasten 
and  solemnize  the  tone  of  all  our  lauda- 
tory ascriptions.  Though,  we  honor 
him  with  praises  on  our  tongues,  we 
should  do  it  with  an  humble  awe  upon 

our  spirits. TT  Doing  wonders.    Heb. 

i<^5  Viu^^  oseh  pelt,  doing  that  which 
is  wonderful.  Gr.  noicov  repara,  doing 
signs  or  prodigies.  On  the  import  of 
the  original  term  j^^iS  peli',  see  Note  on 
Judg.  13.  18,  from  which  it  will  ajipear 
that  it  denotes  that  which  is  preemi- 
nently marvellous  or  miraculously  won- 
derful. How  justly  the  poet  ascribes 
this  character  to  Jehovah,  the  whole 
scope  of  the  inspired  history  is  a  con- 
tinued proof.  Indeed  the  entire  series 
of  providential  dispensations  in  the 
world  is  a  tissue  of  works  of  wonder. 
But  the  children  of  Israel  in  their  pres- 
ent circumstances  would  naturally  have 
their  eye  more  especially  upon  that  suc- 
cession o{  miraculous  judgments  which 
had  visited  and  desolated  the  land  of 
Egypt,  and  so  prepared  the  way  for 
their  deliverance.  We  find  a  striking 
echo  to  the  sentiment  of  this  passage 
in  the  parallel  language  of  Job,  ch.  5.  9, 
'Which  doeth  great  things  and  unsearch- 
able ;  marvellous  things  (mK^SD  niph- 
laoth)  without  number.' 

12.  The  earth  swallowed  them.  This 
is  nothing  more  than  a  poetical  hyper- 
bole, varying  or  rather  strengthening 
the  prior  description  of  the  Egyptians 
being  overwhelmed  in  the  mighty  wa- 
ters. They  were  so  completely  sub- 
merged and  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  the 
sea,  that  they  might  be  said  to  be  swal- 
lowed up  by  its  deep  abysses.  'Earth,' 
however,  is  here  to  be  taken  in  its  gen- 
eric import  as  equivalent  to  '  globe/ 


190 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


13  Thou  in  ihy  mercy  hast  d  led 
forth  the  people  u-hich  thou  hast 
redeemed  :  thou  hast  guided  them 
in  thy  strength  unto  ethy  holy 
habitation. 


d  Ps.  77.  15,  2( 
Isai.63.  12,  13. 


&  78.  52.  &80.  1.&106. 
Jer.  2.  6.     e  Ps.  78.  54. 


which  does  not  regard  the  distinction 
of  land  and  water.  Thus  Jon.  2.  6,  *I 
went  down  to  the  bottoms  of  the  moun- 
tains ;  the  earth  with  her  bars  was  about 
me  forever ;'  i.  e.  I  was  engulphed  in 
the  deep  places  of  the  earth. 

13.  Thou  in  thy  mercy  hast  led  forth, 
&c.  The  poet  here  passes,  by  a  sudden 
but  natural  transition,  from  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Egyptians  to  the  deliverance 
of  the  Israelites.  This  is  very  appro- 
priate, as  it  places  the  two  grand  as- 
pects of  the  event  in  strong  and  imme- 
diate contrast,  the  one  that  of  justice, 
the  other  of  mercy.  How  impressively 
are  both  presented  before  the  mind  in 
this  transcendent  song.  While  on  the 
one  hand  thousands  of  wretched  beings 
who  knew  not  God,  but  had  mocked 
him  with  their  idolatries  and  provoked 
him  with  their  rebellion,  had  been  sud- 
denly hurled  into  the  embraces  of  death, 
they  on  the  other  had  been  graciously  ex- 
empted from  harm,  rescued  from  bond- 
age, restored  to  freedom !  Great  and 
manifold  indeed  were  the  mercies  of 
God  to  his  chosen,  and  richly  were  they 

worthy  of  the  highest  celebration. 

If  Thou  hast  guided  them,  &c.  Heb. 
ri^ro  nehalta.  The  original  in  its  le- 
gitimate sense  signifies  to  guide  gently, 
softly,  and  with  care,  as  a  good  shep- 
herd does  his  flock.  It  is  the  word  used 
by  the  prophet,  Is.  40.  11,  'He  shall 
gather  the  lambs  with  his  arms,  and 
carry  them  in  his  bosom,  and  gently 
lead  those  that  are  with  young.'  Very 
pertinent  to  this  are  the  words  of  the 
Psalmist,  Ps.  77.20,  'Thou  leddest  thy 
people,  like  a  flock  by  the  hand  of  Moses 
and  Aaron.'  The  phrase  in  the  present 
instance  is  indeed  rendered  in  the  past, 


14  fThe  people  shall  hear,  and 
be  afraid :  g  sorrow  shall  take 
liold  on  the  inhabitants  of  Pales- 
tina. 


f  Numb.  14.  14. 
e  Ps.  48.  6. 


Deut.  2.  25.    Josh.  2.  9,  10. 


'thou  /icwf  guided, 'as  if  their  destination 
had  been  actually  reached,  yet  the 
meaning  obviously  is,  that  they  were 
now  being  guided,  that  they  were  on 
the  way  which  led  toward  the  land  of 
promise  where  they  were  to  dwell,  and 
where  God  was  to  dwell  with  them. 
Whether  any  thing  more  definite  and 
precise  than  a  peculiar  residence  or  in- 
dwelling in  the  land  of  Canaan  in  gen- 
eral be  intended,  it  is  not  perhaps  pos- 
sible to  determine.  This  is  called  God's 
habitation  simply  because  it  was  Israel's 
habitation,  among  whom  he  had  en- 
gaged to  tabernacle  or  dwell. 

14.  The  people  shall  hear  and  be 
afraid,  &c.  The  high  poetic  afflatus 
under  which  this  sublime  triumphal 
song  was  composed  is  nearly  akin  to 
the  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  the  verse 
before  us  evidently  points  to  the  future 
results  of  this  signal  victory,  in  its  bear- 
ings upon  the  devoted  nations  of  Ca- 
naan. The  very  tidings  of  such  a  tre- 
mendous overthrow  of  the  Egyptians 
would  go  so  far  towards  terrifying  and 
disheartening  their  other  enemies,  that 
it  would  render  the  conquest  of  them 
comparatively  easy.  Their  spirits  would 
sink  at  the  idea  of  grappling  with  such 
a  power  as  evidently  fought  for  Israel, 
and  this  secret  misgiving,  though  it 
might  not  entirely  preclude  resistance, 
would  yet  so  far  weaken  it,  as  to  make 
them  very  little  formidable  in  their  war- 
fare. Tliat  this  was  a  true  prediction 
we  see  at  once  by  referring  to  the  sub- 
sequent history.  Josli.  5.  1,  'And  it 
came  to  pass,  when  all  the  kings  of  the 
Amorites  which  were  on  the  side  of 
Jordan  westward,  and  all  the  kings  of 
the  Canaanites  which  were  by  the  sea, 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


191 


15  hThen  uhe  dukes  of  Edom 
shall  be  amazed  ;  k  the  mighty  men 
of  Moab,  trembling  shall  take  hold 
upon  them  ;  i  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Canaan  shall  melt  away. 

16  mFear   and   dread   shall   fall 

hGen.  36.  40.  i  Deut.  2.  4.  k^umb.  22. 
3.  Hab.  3.  7.  1  Josh.  5.  1.  m  Deut.  2. 25.  & 
11.25.    Josh.  2.  9. 

heard  that  the  Lord  had  dried  up  the 
waters  of  Jordan  from  before  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  until  we  were  passed 
over,  that  their  heart  melted ;  neither 
was  there  spirit  in  them  anymore,  be- 
cause  of  the   children   of  Israel.' 

IT  The  inhabitants  of  Palest ina.  That 
is,  the  Philistines,  from  whom,  although 
they  inhabited  only  a  part  of  it,  the 
land  of  Palestine  is  supposed  to  have 
derived  its  denomination.  They  were 
not  of  the  prophetically  accursed  seed 
of  Canaan,  nor  are  they  enumerated 
among  the  nations  devoted  to  extermi- 
nation, whose  territory  God  assigned  to 
the  Hebrews.  But  they  maintained  a 
hostile  attitude  towards  the  Israelites, 
with  whom  they  had  many  battles,  and 
after  a  long  series  of  struggles  they  were 
finally  effectually  subdued  by  David. 

15.  The  dukes  of  Edom  shall  be  amaz- 
ed. Heb.  Qi-H  "iSI^H  alluphe  Edom. 
On  the  import  of  the  Heb.  term  'alluph' 

see  Note  on  Gen.  36.  15,  16. IT  All 

the  inhabitants  of  Canaan  shall  melt 
away.  Heb.  13^3  namogu  ;  a  term  to 
be  understood  rather  of  the  mental  des- 
pondency, the  sinking  away  of  courage 
and  hope,  than  of  the  physical  wasting 
and  consumption  of  the  Canaanites  be- 
fore the  victorious  arms  of  Israel.  How 
accurately  this  depicts  the  result  that 
actually  occurred  is  evident  from  the 
parallel  language.  Josh.  2.  9 — 11, 'And 
she  said  unto  the  men,  I  know  that  the 
Lord  hath  given  you  the  land,  and  that 
your  terror  is  fallen  upon  us,  and  that 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  faint 
(JWZI  namogu)  because  of  you.  For 
we  have  heard  how  the  Lord  dried  up 


upon  them ;  by  the  greatness  of 
thine  arm  tbey  shall  be  as  still  "as 
a  stone;  till  thy  people  pass  over, 
0  Lord,  till  the  people  pass  over, 
•^ichich  thou  hast  purchased. 

Dl  Sam.  25.  37.  och.  19.5.  Deut.  32.  9. 
2  Sani.  7  23.  Ts.  74.  2.  Isai.  43.  1,  3.  &  51.  10. 
Jer.  31.  11.  Tit.  2.  14.  1  Pel.  2.  9.  2  Pet. 
2.1. 

the  water  of  the  Red  Sea  for  you,  when 
ye  came  out  of  Egypt ;  and  what  ye  did 
unto  the  two  kings  of  the  Amorites 
that  were  on  the  other  side  Jordan,  Si- 
hon  and  Og,  whom  ye  utterly  destroy- 
ed. And  as  soon  as  we  had  heard  these 
things,  our  hearts  did  melt  (CJj"^  yirn- 
7rtas),  neither  did  there  remain  any  more 
courage  in  any  man,  because  of  you.' 
Throughout  the  whole  context  the  gra- 
dations of  distress  are  strikingly  mark- 
ed. First,  there  is  to  be/ea?-  among  the 
people  ;  then  sorrow  is  to  overtake  the 
inhabitants  of  Palestine  ;  next,  the 
princes  af  Edom  are  to  be  amazed  or 
painfully  disturbed ;  then  the  Moab- 
ites  shall  tremble  with  terror  ;  and, 
finally,  the  hearts  of  Canaan  shall  m.elt 
away  with  overwhelming  dread  of  the 
coming  disasters. 

16.  Fear  and  dread  shall  fall  upon 
them,  &c.  This  is  but  an  expansion  of 
the  sentiment  of  the  last  clause  of  the 
preceding  verse.  They  should  be  so  ut- 
terly overcome  with  consternation  that 
their  energies  should  be  paralyzed,  and 
they  should  be  unable  to  otfer  any  ef- 
fectual resistance.  But  let  not  Israel 
forget  that  '  it  was  not  their  own  arm 
which  would  get  them  the  victory.'  It 
was  to  be  by  the  greatness  of  God's 
arm,  by  the  direct  intervention  of  his 
power,  that  the  inhabitants  were  thus 
to  be  rendered  impotent  in  their  alarm. 

IT  They  shall  be  as  still  as  a  stone. 

Gr.  aTroAiyojC/jrwo-ui',  let  them  be  turned 
into  stones,  equivalent  to  the  English 
phrase  of  hc'mg petrified  with  fear,  grief, 

astonishment,  &c. IT  Till  tny  people 

pass  over.    That  is,  till  the  Israelites 


192 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491 


17  Thou  shalt  bring  them  in,  and 
p  plant  them  in  the  mountain  of 
thine  inheritance,  in  the  place,  0 
LoKD,  luhich  thou  hast  made  for 

pPs.  44.  2.  &  80.  8. 

pass  over  the  desert  and  the  limits  of 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  enter  upon 
their  inheritance.  The  Jordan,  how- 
ever, is  probably  more  especially  in- 
tended, as  the  spirit  of  prophecy  per- 
vades the  poem.  Thus  the  Chal.  'Un- 
til the  people,  O  Lord,  shall  have  passed 
over  Arnon  and  the  Jordan.'  This  was 
only  a  less  miracle  than  the  passage  of 
the  Red  Sea,  inasmuch  as  the  channel 
is  narrower,  and  the  transit  unattend- 
ed by  the  destruction  of  enemies. 

IT  Which  thou  hast  purchased.  Heb. 
Ti'^^p  kanitha,  hast  gotten,  acquired,  be- 
come possessed  of.  The  original  signi- 
fies to  obtain  either  by  purchase,  by  gen- 
eration, or  by  any  other  mode  of  acqui- 
sition, but  more  especially  the  former. 
Thus,  Deut.  32.  6,  'Is  not  he  thy  father 
that  hath  bought  thee  V  Ps.  74.  2, '  Re- 
member thy  congregation  which  thou 
hast  purchased  of  old  ;'  and  the  Apostle, 
2  Pet.  2.  1,  speaks  of  such  as  'deny  the 
Lord  that  bought  them.'  Chal.  'Which 
thou  hast  redeemed.'  Gr.  hi^  cKTrjao,  which 
thou  hast  possessed. 

17.  Thou  shalt  bring  them  in.  This 
glorious  beginning  of  God's  favor  to 
them  was  of  such  a  nature,  as  to  afford 
an  earnest  of  the  full  accomplishment 
of  all  his  purposed  mercy.  If  notwith- 
standing their  unworlhiness  and  all  the 
difficulties  that  lay  in  the  way  of  their 
escape,  he  had  thus  with  a  higli  hand 
brought  them  out  of  Egypt,  might  they 
not  be  assured  that  he  would  bring  them 
into   Canaan  ?      For  having   so  begun 

would  he  not  make  an  end  ? IT  Plant 

them  in  the  mountain  of  thine  inherit- 
ance. That  is,  thou  shalt  give  them  a 
settled  and  firmly  fixed  inheritance  ;  a 
mptaphor  taken  from  trees  which  wlien 
ih'Ar  roots  are  struck  deeply  into  the 


thee  to  dwell  in ;  in  the  q  sanctua- 
ry, O  Lord,  which  thy  hands  have 
established. 

q  Ps  78.  54. 


earth  cannot  without  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty be  plucked  up.  It  predicts,  there- 
fore, a  permanent  and  stable  mode  of 
life,  in  opposition  to  the  roving  and  mi- 
gratory habits  of  a  people  who  are  ever 
on  the  move.  See  the  similitude  beau- 
tifully expanded,  Ps.  SO.  8—16,  no  doubt 
in  direct  allusion  to  the  expression  of 
the  present  text  ;  'Thou  hast  brought  a 
vine  out  of  Egypt :  thou  hast  cast  out 
the  heathen  and  planted  it.  Thou  pre- 
paredst  room  before  it,  and  didst  cause 
it  to  take  deep  root,  and  it  filled  the 
land.  The  hills  were  covered  with  the 
shadow  of  it,  and  the  boughs  thereof 
were  like  the  goodly  cedars.  She  sent 
out  her  boughs  unto  the  sea,  and  her 
branches  unto  the  river.'  By  the  'moun- 
tain of  thine  inheritance'  is  doubtless 
meant  the  mountainous  country  of  Ca- 
naan, with,  however,  a  more  especial  re- 
ference to  Mount  Zion,  the  site  of  the 
Temple.  The  term  'mountain'  is  plain- 
ly applied  to  the  whole  land  of  promise 
in  the  following  passage :  Deut.  3.  25, 
'Let  me  go  over,  and  see  the  good  land 
that  is  beyond  Jordan,  the  goodly  mouu' 
tain,  and  Lebanon.'  Comp.  Ps.  78.  54, 
'And  he  brought  them  to  the  border  of 
his  sanctuary,  even  to  this  mountaiUy 
which  his  right  hand  had  purchased.' 
The  three  clauses  rise  in  striking  gra- 
dation, according  to  the  genius  of  He- 
brew poetry.  First  we  have  the  moun- 
tain,  or  the  land  of  Canaan  generally ; 
it  is  then  restricted  to  the  j)lace,  the 
particular  spot,  upon  which  the  temple 
of  the  Lord's  habitation  was  built ;  and 
lastly  we  have  the  sanctuary  itself, 
the  seat  and  centre  of  that  economy 
which  was  So  certainly  to  be  '  establish- 
ed,' that  it  is  spoken  of  as  if  already 
done. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


193 


18  r  The  Lord  shall  reign  for 
ever  and  ever. 

19  For  the  » horse  of  Pharaoh  went 
in  with  his  chariots  and  with  his 
horsemen  into  the  sea,  and  » the 
Lord  brought  again  the  waters  of 
the  sea  upon  them  :  but  the  chil- 

r  Ps.  10.  16.  &  29. 10.  &  146.  10.  Isai.  57.  15. 
•  ch.  14.  23.     Pro  V.  21 .  31.     t  ch.  14  28,  29. 


18.  The  Lord  shall  reign  for  ever  and 
ever.  This  sublime  pean  is  here  con- 
ckided  with  a  burst  of  rapturous  exult- 
ation in  view  of  God's  universal  and 
everlasting  dominion.  Though  they  had 
seen  an  end  of  Pharaoh's  reign,  and  were 
assured  of  the  final  extinction  of  those 
hostile  powers  with  which  they  would 
3'et  have  to  contend,  there  was  no  period 
to  be  put  to  the  ever-during  reign  of  the 
blessed  and  only  Potentate,  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  This  appears 
to  have  been  a  sort  of  chorus  in  which 
all  the  people  joined. 

19.  For  the  horse  of  Pharaoh,  &c. 
This  verse,  if  a  part  of  the  song,  con- 
tains what  the  Greeks  call  the  epipho- 
nema,  which  includes  the  whole  subject 
of  the  piece  like  the  first  chorus.  It 
is  obvious  that  it  is  a  mere  iteration  in 
condensed  terms  of  the  general  theme 
of  the  ode,  such  as  might  easily  be  re- 
tained in  the  memory  of  each  individual, 
and  by  him  transmitted  along  the  line  of 
his  descendants  to  the  latest  posterity. 
But  we  decidedly  prefer  to  adopt  the 
opinion  of  Rosenmuller,  who  supposes 
that  the  triumphal  hymn  properly  closes 
with  V.  18,  and  that  this  is  to  be  joined 
to  the  two  succeeding  verses  as  a  brief 
recapitulation  in  simple  prosaic  nar- 
rative of  the  grand  incident  which  gave 
occasion  to  the  song. 

20.  And  Miriam  the  prophetess,  the 
sister  of  Aaron.  Gr.  Wun  uf/,  Mariam; 
Lat.  'Maria  ;'  Eng.  'Mary' — all  the  same 
name.  She  is  called  the  sister  of  Aaron 
rather  than  of  Aaron  and  Moses  to- 
gether, simply  for  brevity's  sake,  from 
Aaron's  being  her  elder  brother,    and 

Vpj..  I  J7 


dren  of  Israel  went  on  dry  land  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea. 
20  ^  And  Miriam  u  the  prophet- 
ess, X  the  sister  of  Aaron,  y  took  a 
timbrel  in  lier  hand ;  and  all  the 
women  went  out  after  her,  z  with 
timbrels,  and  with  dances. 

uJudg.  4.  4.  1  Sam.  10  5.  x- Numb.  26.  59 
yl  Sam.  18.  6.  z  Judg.  11.  34.  &  21.21.  2  Sam 
6.16.     Ps.  68.  11,  25.  &  149.  3.  &  150.  4. 

from  her  having  lived  with  him  in  Egypt 
while  Moses  was  absent  in  Midian.  Th» 
character  of  '  prophetess'  is  ascribed  to 
her  probably  from  the  fact  that  she  in 
common  with  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  like 
Deborah,  Huldah,  and  Anna,  was  made 
in  some  degree  the  organ  of  divine  com- 
munications, as  it  is  said,  Mic.  6.  4,  *I 
sent  before  thee  Moses,  Aaron,  and  Mi- 
riam,' where  the  three  appear  to  be 
placed  in  co-ordinate  rank.  So  also, 
Num.  12.  1,  Aaron  and  Miriam  are  rep- 
resented as  saying  together,  'Hath  the 
Lord  spoken  only  by  Moses?  hath  he 
not  spoken  also  by  us  V  It  is  supposed, 
however,  by  some  to  mean  here  no  more 
than  a  woman  em.inently  skilled  in  mu- 
sic, as  it  is  plain  that  the  word  '  pro- 
phesy' is  in  several  instances  in  the 
Scriptures  employed  to  denote  the  act 
of  singing  or  of  playing  upon  musical 
instruments.  Thus  David,  1  Chron.  25. 
1 ,  set  apart  the  sons  of  Asaph  and  others, 
'Who  should  j3ro/)/iesi/  with  harps,  with 
psalteries,  and  with  cymbals.'  The  word 
'  prophesy'  is  also  supposed  to  be  used 
in  the  sen.se  of  singing  the  praises  of 
God,  1  Cor.  11.  5,  'But  every  woman 
that  prayeth  or  prophesieth  with  lier 
head  uncovered  dishonoreth  her  liead  ;> 
for  that  it  cannot  here  signify  to  commu- 
nicate instruction  is  to  be  inferred  from 
1  Cor.  14.  34,  'Let  your  women  keep  si- 
lence in  the  churches  ;  for  it  is  not  per- 
mitted unto  them  to  speak.'  Probably 
both  senses  are  to  be  included  in  the" 

term. IT  Took  a  timbrel.    Heb.  qin 

toph,  from  a  root  signifying  to  strike, 
smite,  beat.  The  origiuiil  word  occurs 
about  twenty  times  in  tiic  Hc-b.  Bible, 


194 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


21  And  Miriam  a  answered  them, 
D  Sing  ye  lo  the  Lord,  for  he  hath 
triumphed  gloriously :  the  horse 
and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into 
the  sea. 


but  our  translators,  with  a  disregard  of 
unilbnnity  which  loo  often  mars  their 
vers.ion,  have  in  about  one  half  the  cases 
rendered  it  by  timbrel,  and  in  the  other 
l^y  tabret,  and  in  only  one  instance,  Jer. 
31.  4,  does  the  margin  present  a  choice 
of  renderings.  The  instrument  thus  de- 
nominated is  with  great  probability  sup- 
posed to  have  been  constructed  cff  a  hoop, 
sometimes  furnished  with  pieces  of  brass 
to  make  a  jingling  noise,  over  which  a 
membrane  of  parchment  was  stretched 
like  the  head  of  a  drum ;  it  was  beat 
with  the  fingers,  and  answered  very  ex- 
actly to  the  tambourins  of  modern  times. 
In  allusion  to  this  mode  of  playing  upon 
the  instrument,  the  prophet,  Nah.  2.  7, 
compares  women's  beating  upon  their 
breasts  in  deep  anguish  to  their  'taber- 
ing,'  or  playing  upon  the  timbrel,  where 
the  epithet  is  to  be  understood  not  of 
'  doves,'  but  of  *  maids,'  in  a  preceding 
part  of  the  verse.  For  a  more  particular 
account  of  this  instrument  see  Note  on 

Gen.  31.27. IT   With  dances.     Of  the 

eastern  mode  of  dancing  Lady  M.  W. 
Montagu  says  ;  'Their  manner  of  danc- 
ing is  certainly  the  same  that  Diana  is 
said  to  have  danced  on  the  banks  of  the 
Eurotas.  The  great  lady  still  leads  the 
dance,  and  is  followed  by  a  troop  of 
young  girls,  wlio  imitate  her  steps,  and 
ii'she  sings,  make  up  the  chorus.  The 
steps  are  varied  according  to  the  pleas- 
ure of  her  that  leads  the  dance,  but  al- 
ways in  exact  time.'  Accordingly  Mi- 
riam here  led  the  dance,  whose  move- 
ments regulated  the  steps  of  her  female 
associates.  In  like  manner  it  is  prob- 
able that  David,  2  Sam.  6.  24,25,  when 
tlie  ark  was  removed,  danced  not  alane 
before  the  Lord,  but  led  the  dance  in  the 
same  authoritative  kind  of  way. 


22  So  Moses  brought  Israel  from 
the  Red  sea,  and  they  went  out 
into  the  wilderness  of  ^Shur;  and 
they  went  three  days  in  the  wil- 
derness, and  found  no  water. 


«•  Gen. 


&25.  18. 


21 .  Miriam  answered  them.  The  whole 
song  was  probably,  as  suggested  above, 
sung  alternately  by  the  men  and  women 
ranged  into  two  bands,  and  by  Miriam's 
'answering'  the  men  (for  the  original 
for  'them'  is  masculine)  is  meant,  un- 
doubtedly, that  she  was  precentrix,  or 
leader  of  the  choir  to  the  w'omen,  as 
Mosas  was  to  the  men  ;  or,  as  the  words 
immediately  following,  '  Sing  ye  lo  the 
Lord,  &c.'  appear  to  indicate  that  which 
formed  the  'answer  of  Miriam'  and  her 
companions,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  these 
words  constituted  a  kind  of  chorus  which 
was  repeated  at  the  end  of  each  of  the 
preceding  verses,  as  in  Ps.  136,  the 
words,  '  For  his  mercy  endurelh  for 
ever,'  are  repeated  throughout  the  whole 
psalm. 

22.  So  Moses  brought  Israel,  &c.  From 
tlie  opinion  already  expressed  respect- 
ing the  place  where  the  Israelites  en- 
camped, and  at  which  they  entered  the 
sea,  it  is  evident  that  we  regard  Ain 
I\Iousa  as  the  place,  on  the  eastern 
shore,  where  they  came  up  from  the 
bed  of  the  waters,  and  where  they  wit- 
nessed the  overthrow  of  their  oppres- 
sors. It  is  certain  that  the  local  tra- 
ditions of  tlie  inhabitants. of  Sinai  con- 
firm this  view  of  the  subject ;  and  al- 
though undue  weight  should  not  be  at- 
tached to  such  traditions,  yet  neither 
should  they  be  entirely  disregarded 
when  they  support  conclusions  other- 
wise probable.  Travellers  who  have 
explored  the  locality  inform  us,  that  a 
number  of  green  shrubs,  springing  from 
numerous  hillocks,  mark  the  landward 
approach  to  this  place.  Here  are  also  a 
number  of  neglected  palm-trees,  grown 
thick  and  bushy  for  want  of  pruning. 
The  springs  which  here  rise  out  of  the 


B.  C.  U91. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


196 


23   H  And  Avhen   they  came  to 
d  Marali,  they  could  not  drmk  of 

d  Numb.  33.  8. 

ground  in  various  places,  and  give  name 
lo  the  spot,  are  soon  lost  in  the  sands. 
The  water  is  of  a  brackish  quality,  in 
consequence,  probably  of  the  springs 
being  so  near  the  sea ;  but  it  is  never- 
theless cool  and  refreshing,  and  in  these 
waterless  deserts  alTords  a  desirable 
resting-place.  The  view  from  this  place, 
looking  westward,  is  very  beautiful,  and 
it  deserves  to  be  mentioned  that  not 
only  do  the  springs  bear  the  name  of 
Moses,  but  the  projecting  headland  be- 
low them,  towards  the  sea,  bears  the 
name  of  Ras  Mousa,  Cape  of  Moses. 
On  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Gulf  stands 
in  full  vie\v  the  Cape  of  Deliverance, 
the  two  uniting  their  abiding  and  un- 
shaken testimony  to  the  judgments  and 
wonders  of  that  memorable  day.  The 
'wilderness  of  Sinai'  is  the  name  given 
to  the  desert  extending  from  Canaan  in 
a  southern  direction,  and  bordering  upon 
the  territories  of  Egypt.  In  Num.  33. 
8,  it  is  said  that  'they  passed  through 
the  midst  of  the  sea  into  the  wilderness, 
and  went  three  days  in  the  wilderness 
of  Etham,  and  pitched  in  Marah.'  By 
comparing  the  passage  now  quoted  with 
Ex.  13.  20,  it  appears  that  the  wilder- 
ness of  Etham  extended  from  the  west- 
ern side,  quite  round  the  northern  point 
of  the  Red  Sea,  and  to  a  considerable 
distance  along  its  eastern  shore,  as  it  is 
evident  that  the  Israelites  on  emerging 
from  the  sea  entered  into  the  same  wil- 
derness on  the  edge  of  which  they  had 
encamped  before  passing  it.  We  ima- 
gine therefore  that  Junius  and  Tremel- 
lius  have  given  the  correct  rendering  of 
this  verse  ;  *  Then  Moses  ordered  the 
Israelites  to  depart  from  the  weedy 
(red)  sea  that  they  miglu  go  into  the 
desert  of  Shur ;  and  having  gone  three 
days  through  the  desert  (of  Etham) 
they  found  water.'  According  to  this 
version,  the  wilderness  of   Shur,    in- 


the  waters  of  Marah;  for  ihey 
iccre  bitter:  therefore  tlienameof 
it  was  called  Marah. 

stead  of  being  the  same  with  that  of 
Etham,  lay  beyond  it,  and  could  only  be 
reached  by  a  previous  three  days'  travel 
through  it.  It  is  said,  that  a  clear  trace 
of  the  ancient  appellation  still  remains 
in  the  present  name  of  Sdur.  '  To  this 
day  there  is  nearly  opposite  the  Bay  of 
Bedea  the  bed  of  a  winter  torrent  which 
is  called  Wady  Sdur,  and  the  coast  to 
some  distance  northward  also  bears  the 
name  of  Sdur.  It  is  fair  llierefore  to 
infer  that  the  Hebrews  emerged  from 
the  bed  of  the  Gulf  somewhere  between 
Wady  Sdur  and  lias  Mousa.  Indeed, 
the  necessary  breadth  of  the  opening 
made  for  their  passage,  would  have 
obliged  them  to  spread  over  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  extent  between  the  two 
points,  which  are  distant  about  fifteen 
miles  from  each  other.'  Pict.  Hist,  of 
Palestine. 

23.  And  when  they  came  to  Marah 
they  could  not  drink,  &c.  Departing 
from  Ain  Mousa  their  road  lay  over  a 
desert  region,  sandy,  gravelly,  and  sto- 
ny, by  turns.  On  their  right  hand,  their 
eyes  rested  on  the  deep  blue  waters  of 
the  gulf  so  recently  sundered  for  their 
sake  ;  while  on  their  left  was  the  moun- 
tain chain  of  El  Ruhat,  stretching  away 
to  a  greater  distance  from  the  shore  as 
the  pilgrims  advanced.  In  about  nine 
miles  they  entered  an  extensive  desert 
plain  now  called  El  Ati,  white  and  pain- 
fully glaring  to  the  eye.  Proceeding 
beyond  this,  the  ground  becomes  hilly, 
with  sandhills  near  the  coast.  In  all  this 
way,  which  it  took  them  three  days  to 
traverse,  they  found  no  water  ;  but  at 
last  they  came  to  a  well,  the  waters  of 
which  were  so  bitter,  that  it  bore  the 
name  of  Marah,  bitterness.  At  present, 
*  as  we  do  not  know  that  there  were 
three  complete  days'  journey,  nor  what 
distance  made  a  day's  journey  for  such 
a  numerous  and  encumbered  host,  and 


196 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


24  And  the  people  e  murmured 
against  Moses  saying,  What  shall 
we  drmk  ? 


2.  &  17.  3. 


are  also  not  quite  assured  of  the  point 
from  which  to  begin  the  computation, 
we  are  allowed  a  considerable  latitude 
in  looking  for  Marah.  Proceeding,  then, 
along  the  coast  south  by  east,  over  a 
plain  alternately  gravelly,  stony,  and 
sandy,  we  find  the  country  begins  to  be 
hilly,  with  sand-hills  hear  the  coast,  and 
at  last  come  to  the  barren  bed  of  a  winter- 
torrent,  called  Wady  Amarah  (just  the 
same  in  sound  and  meaning  as  Marah), 
a  few  miles  south  of  which  there  is  a 
well  called  Howara,  which  both  Niebuhr 
and  Burckhardt  concur  in  considering 
to  be  the  Marah  of  Scripture.  It  is  true 
that  these  travellers  agree  in  fixing  the 
passage  of  the  Red  Sea  at  Suez,  from 
which  this  spot  is  fifty  miles  distant, 
and  forty  miles  from  Ain  Mousa.  The 
distance  from  either  point  would  be  a 
good  three-days' journey  for  such  a  body 
as  the  Hebrew  host,  nor  would  the  dis- 
tance be  too  short,  if  we  suppose  them 
to  have  started  from  some  point  be- 
tween Ain  Mousa  and  Wady  Sdur.  Even 
Dr.  Shaw,  who  places  the  starting  point 
at  or  below  Wady  Sdur,  does  not  fix 
Marah  more  than  a  few  miles  below 
Howara.  We  may  therefore  consider 
the  evidence  for  Howara  as  good  as  for 
any  place  that  has  yet  been  indicated. 
The  well  there  lies  among  rocks,  about 
.a  hundred  ])aces  out  of  the  road,  and  its 
water  is  so  bitter  that  men  cannot  drink 
it,  and  even  camels,  unless  very  thirsty, 
refuse  to  taste  it.  It  occurs  on  the  cus- 
tomary road  along  the  coast  from  Suez 
to  Sinai,  and  Burckhardt  observes  that 
there  is  no  other  well  absolutely  bitter 
on  the  whole  coast  so  far  as  Ras  Mo- 
hammed at  the  extremity  of  the  penin- 
sula. He  adds  :  'The  complaints  of  the 
bitterness  of  the  water  by  the  children 


25  And  he  f  cried  unto  the  Lord  ; 
and  the  Lord  shewed  him  a  tree, 
g  ivhich  when  he  had  cast  into  the 

fch,  14,  10.  &  17.  4.  Ps.  50.  15.  ?  See 
2  Kings  2.  21.  &4.  41. 


the  sweet  water  of  the  Nile,  are  such 
as  may  be  daily  heard  from  the  Egyp- 
tian peasants  and  servants  who  travel 
in  Arabia.  Accustomed  from  their  youth 
to  the  excellent  water  of  the  Nile,  there 
is  nothing  they  so  much  regret  in  coun- 
tries distant  from  Egypt  ;  nor  is  there 
any  eastern  people  who  feel  so  keenly 
the  want  of  good  water  as  the  present 
natives  of  Egypt.'  (Tour  in  the  Penin- 
sula of  Mount  Sinai.)'    Pict.Bih. 

24.  And  the  people  murmured  against 
Moses,  saying,  &c.  We  here  behold  an 
affecting  instance,  not  merely  of  He- 
brew, but  of  human  instability.  How 
soon,  alas  !  does  the  feeling  of  a  little 
present  distress  convert  the  peans  and 
hallelujahs  of  weak  believers  into  sighs 
of  murmuring  and  grief!  All  that  Mo- 
ses, all  that  God  had  done  for  Israel  is 
forgotten,  the  moment  a  scarcity  of  wa- 
ter is  felt !  Strange  that  one  unpalata- 
ble beverage  at  Marah  shouldjiave  ob- 
literated all  rcmeipbrance  of  the  recent 
wonders  of  Egypt,  and  the  still  more 
recent  miracles  of  the  Red  Sea  !  Did  it 
require  greater  power  to  make  the  wa- 
ters of  Marah  palatable,  than  to  make 
those  of  the  sea  passable?  But  why 
should  they  murmur  against  Moses? 
Had  he  conducted  them  thither  of  his 
own  motion  without  himself  being  led 
by  the  guiding  movement  of  the  cloudy 
pillar?  Might  he  not  therefore  with 
the  utmost  propriety  have  remonstrated 
with  them,  as  on  a  subsequent  occasion, 
'Your  murmurings  are  not  against  me, 
but  against  the  Lord.'  Unreasonable- 
ness towards  men  cannot  well  fail  to 
blend  itself  with  impiety  towards  God. 

25.  And  he  cried  unto  the  Lord,  &c. 
The  ingratitude  of  the  people  of  his 
charge  did  not  prevail  to  extinguish  in 
the  breast  of  Moses  the  spirit  of  fervent 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


197 


waters,   the    waters  were    nmde    statute  and  an  ordinance,  and  tlicre 
sweet :  there  he  '>  made  for  them  a    » he  proved  them. 

•ch.  1(1.4.    Dent.  8.  2,  16.  Judg.2.  22   &  3. 
h  See  Josh.  2  J.  25.  1,  4.  Ps.  66.  10.  &  Si.  7. 

intercession  in  their  behalf.  By  follow- 
ing his  example  the  servants  of  God 
may  be  taught,  like  him,  the  means  of 

turning   bitter  into  sweet. IT    The 

Lord  showed  him  a  tree.  Hcb.  in*ni 
yy  yorehu  t'tz,  taught  him  a  tree.  Gr. 
eSctiei,  avT'o  ^nXn',  shoiced  him  a  ivood. 
It  is  clear  that  God  by  some  special 
monition  or  suggestion  indicated  to  Mo- 
ses a  peculiar  kind  of  tree  or  wood, 
■which  when  thrown  into  the  fountain 
rendered  the  bitter  waters  sweet  and  fit 
for  use.  But  it  is  not  clear  whether  this 
was  owing  to  some  inherent  curative 
properties  in  the  tree  itself,  or  whether 
its  selection  was  entirely  arbitrary,  and 
the  effect  purely  miraculous.  On  the 
one  hand,  unless  we  admit  that  it  pos- 
sessed some  native  efficacy  this  way,  it 
is  not  easy  to  see  why  a  particular  kind 
of  tree  was  pointed  out  to  Mosf>s,  when 
any  tree,  or  even  his  own  rod,  would 
have  answered  the  purpose  equally  well. 
Again,  there  is  no  doubt  that  certain 
species  of  vegetable  productions  have 
this  corrective  pro])erty,  and  that  they 
have  been  often  employed  for  this  pur- 
pose. A  modern  traveller  in  South 
America  speaks  of  a  shrub  called  alum- 
bre,  a  branch  of  which  put  into  the  mud- 
dy stream  of  the  Magdalena,  precipi- 
tated the  mud  and  earth,  leaving  the 
water  sweet  and  clear.  The  first  dis- 
coverers of  the  Floridas  are  said  to  !tave 
corrected  the  stagnant  and  fetid  waters 
they  found  there,  by  infusing  into  it 
branches  of  sassafras  ;  and  it  is  under- 
stood that  the  first  use  of  tea  among 
the  Cldnese,  was  to  correct  the  waters 
of  their  ponds  and  rivers.  *  Since  the 
publication  of  the  first  edition,'  says 
Mr.  Mihnan,  in  a  note  to  his  history  of 
the  Jews,  '  some  water  from  a  fountain 
called  thit  of  Marah,  but  jirobably  not 
the  Ilowara  of  Burckhardt,  has  been 
17* 


brought  to  this  country,  and  has  been 
analyzed  by  a  medical  friend  of  the  au- 
thor.  His  statement  is  subjoined  :  'The 
water  has  a  slightly  astringent  bitter- 
ish taste.  Chemical  examinaiion  ^^hows 
that  these  qualities  are  (k^rived  from  the 
selenite  or  sulphate  of  lime  which  it 
holds  in  solution,  and  which  is  said  to 
abound  in  the  neighborhood.  If,  tliere- 
fore,  any  vegetable  substance  contain- 
ing oxalic  acid  (of  which  there  are  sev- 
eral instances)  were  thrown  into  it,  the 
lime  would  speedily  be  precipitated, 
and  the  beverage  rendered  agreeable 
and  wholesome."  At  the  same  time, 
however  plausible  this  reasoning,  it  is 
certain  that  the  tree  had  not  necessarily 
any  such  virtue,  for  nothing  is  more 
common  than  for  God  to  disguise  the 
naked  exliibition  of  supernatural  pow- 
cr  by  the  interposition  of  an  apparent 
cause,  while  yet  the  true  character  of 
the  event  is  obvious  from  the  utter  in- 
adequacy of  the  ostensible  cause  to  pro- 
duce by  itself  the  resulting  effect.  It 
may  be  remarked  too  that  it  is  scarcely 
credible,  that  in  the  scanty  and  little 
diversified  vegetation  of  this  district,  a 
tree  of  such  virtues  should  have  been 
hitherto  undiscovered.  But  if  it  had  been 
discovered,  Moses  would  no  doubt  have 
been  informed  of  it,  and  so  the  divine 
indication  of  the  tree  have  been  rendered 
needless.  If  the  corrective  qualities, 
moreover,  were  inherent,  but  were  at 
this  time  first  made  known,  it  can  scarce- 
ly be  conceived  that  so  valuable  a  dis- 
covery would  ever  have  been  forgot- 
ten or  lost,  and  yet  it  is  manifest  that 
in  after  times  the  Hebrews  had  not 
the  knowledge  of  any  tree  which  could 
render  bad  water  drinkal)le  ;  and  the  in- 
habitants of  the  desert  liave  not  only 
not  preserved  llie  knowledge  of  any  such 
fact,    but   th^^y  have   not  discovered  it 


198 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491, 


26  And  said,  ^  If  ihou  wilt  dili- 
gently hearken  to  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  thy  God,  and  wilt  do  that 
which  is  right  in  his  sight,  and 
wilt   give   ear   to   his    command- 

kDeut.7.  12,  15. 

in  the  thirty-five  centuries  which  have 
since  elapsed.  This  is  shown  by  the 
inquiries  of  travellers,  some  of  whom 
were  actuated  by  the  wish  of  finding  a 
plant  which  would  supersede  the  mira- 
cle. Burckhardt  confesses  that  after  nu- 
merous inquiries,  he  never  could  learn 
that  Arabs  were  acquainted  with  any 
plant  or  tree  possessing  such  qualities  ; 
and  on  the  whole,  we  cannot  but  con- 
clude that  whatever  the  tree  was,  it  had 
no  more  inherent  virtue  in  sweetening 
the  bitter  well  of  Marah,  than  the  salt 
had  which  produced  the  same  effect 
when  thrown  by  Elisha  into  the  well  of 
Jericho.  In  this,  as  in  many  other  simi- 
lar cases,  it  is  easier  to  understand  and 
believe  the  miracle  itself  than  the  best 
explanations  which  have  been  given.  It 
is  remarkable  that  the  Jewish  writers 
generally  are  so  far  from  recognizing 
any  inherent  virtues  in  the  tree,  that 
they  on  the  contrary  afiirm  that  its  qual- 
ity was  bitter,  saying,  'It  is  the  manner 
of  the  blessed  holy  God  to  make  that 
which  is  bitter,  sweet,  by  that  which  is 
bitter.'  The  Targums  call  it  the  bitter 
tree  Ardiphni,  supposed  to  be  the  Rho- 

dodaphne,  ox  rose-laurel. IT  There  he 

made  for  them  a  statute  and  an  ordi- 
nance. Heb.  'D-:-i;?2T  pH  1^  OS  tS'^ 
sham  sam  lo  hok  u-mishpot,  there  he  ap- 
pointed to  him  a  statute  and  a  judg- 
ment; i.e.  to  the  nation  of  Israel  spoken 
of  as  one  person.  The  original  word 
pn  hok,  comes  from  a  root  ppn  hakak, 
signifying  to  describe,  delineate,  mark 
out,  define  and  properly  implies  a  de- 
finite decree,  a  prescribed  rule,  order, 
or  course  of  action.  The  statute  or  de- 
cree here  intended  is  evidently  that  con- 
tained in  the  ensuing  verse    in  which 


ments,  and  keep  all  his  statutes,  I 
will  put  none  of  these  '  diseases 
upon  thee,  Avhich  I  have  brought 
upon  the  Egyptians  :  for  I  am  the 
Lord  ^that  healeth  thee. 

1  Deut.  28.  27,  60.    m  ch.  2.?.  25.     Ps.  41.  3, 
4.  &  103.  3.  <fc  147.  3. 


God,  having  now  assumed  his  people 
into  a  peculiar  relation  to  himself,  and 
being  about  shortly  to  organize  them 
under  a  more  settled  polity,  here  gives 
them  a  general  intimation  of  the  con- 
ditions on  which  they  might  expect  to 
be  dealt  with  during  their  sojourn  in  the 
wilderness,  which  he  is  pleased  to  de- 
nominate a  'statute.'  We  find  the  same 
or  a  similar  phraseology  occurring  else- 
where on  occasions  on  which  the  cove- 
nant obligations  of  the  chosen  people 
are,  as  it  were,  entered  into  and  ratified 
anew.  Thus,  Josh.  24.  25,  'So  Joshua 
made  a  covenant  with  the  people  that 
day,  and  set  them  (him)  a  statute  (pH) 
and  an  ordinance  in  Shechem'j  i.  e. 
made  known  to  them  the  conditions  on 
which  they  might  expect  to  enjoy  the 
divine  favor.  So  also  in  the  second 
Psalm,  the  Son  is  represented  as  declar- 
ing or  reciting  the  'decree'  (pn)  ;  i.  e. 
announcing  the  terms  or  conditions  on 
which  he  was  to  exercise  the  preroga- 
tives of  the  King  of  Zion. IT   There 

he  proved  them.  Heb.  InCD  nissahu, 
proved,  tried,  tempted  him;  the  same 
word  with  that  used  in  reference  to  the 
trial  of  Abraham,  Gen.  22.  1,  on  M'hich 
see  Note.  God  now  proved  or  tried  the 
Israelites  by  bringing  them  into  cir- 
cumstances where  their  patience  and 
faith  would  be  put  to  the  lest. 

26.  If  thou  wilt  diligently  hearken, 
&c.  These  words  contain  a  more  full 
and  distinct  explanation  of  what  was 
implied  in  the  '  statute  and  ordinance' 
that  he  now  appointed  for  them.  They 
were  now  to  be  put  in  a  special  manner 
upon  their  good  behavior,  and  informed 
both  what  God  would  expect  from  them 
and  what  they  might  expect  from  him. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XV. 


199 


27  IfnAnd  they  came  to  Elim,    and  tlireescore  and  ten  palm-trees : 
where  irere  twelve  wells  of  water,    and   they  encamped  there  by  the 
nNumb.  33.  9.  I  Waters. 


They  were  not  to  suppose  that  because 
he  had  thus  signally  favored  and  hon- 
ored them,  he  would  connive  at  their 
sins  and  exempt  them  from  merited  pun- 
ishment. On  the  contrary,  they  were 
to  know  that  if  they  were  rebellious 
and  disobedient,  the  very  same  plagues 
■which  they  had  seen  inflicted  upon  their 
enemies  should  be  brought  upon  them, 
as  it  is  again  expressly  threatened  Deut. 
2S.  60,  'He  will  bring  upon  thee  all 
the  diseases  of  Egypt,  which  thou  wast 
afraid  of,  and  they  shall  cleave  unto 
thee.'  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons, 
and  they  were  to  assure  themselves  that 
a  rebellious  Israelite  would  fare  no  bet- 
ter than  a  rebellious  Egyptian.  This  de- 
claration of  God  to  his  people,  made  un- 
der the  present  affecting  circumstances, 
seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  so  im- 
portant that  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  a 
thousand  years  afterwards,  referred  to 
It  to  show,  that  from  the  very  earliest 
period  of  Israel's  covenant  relation  to 
God,  their  sacrifices  had  been  held  as 
of  no  account  compared  with  obedience, 
Jer.  7.  22,  23,  'For  I  spake  not  unto  your 
fathers,  nor  conimanded  them  in  the  day 
that  I  brought  them  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt,  concerning  burnt-olferings  or  sa- 
crifices :  But  this  thing  commanded  I 
them,  saying,  Obey  my  voice,  and  I  will 
be  your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  my  peo- 
ple :  and  walk  ye  in  all  the  ways  that  I 
have  commanded  you,  that  it  may  be 
well  unto  you.'  Nor  is  it  less  import- 
ant for  us  at  this  day,  to  be  assured  that 
God  will  deal  with  us  according  as  we 
demean  ourselves  towards  to  him.  The 
retribution  may  not  indeed  be  now  so 
visibly  marked  by  outward  signals,  but 
it  will  be  no  less  real  in  secret  visita- 
tions upon  the  spirit,  in  the  conscious 
well  or  ill  being  ol' the  inner  man.  And 
in  many  cases  the  frown  or  the  smile 
of  God  will   be  evident  in  the  dispen- 


sations of  his  providence. IT  /  am 

the  Lord  that  hcaleth  thee.  Heb.  mn"< 
"IKDI  Yehovah  rophe'eka,  Jehovah  thy 
healer.  This  word  in  scripture  usage 
is  applied  to  the  soul  as  well  as  to  the 
body,  and  implies  the  forgiveness  of 
si?is.  Thus,  Ps.  41.  4,  '  Lord  be  merci- 
ful unto  me  and  heal  my  soul,  for  I  have 
sinned  against  thee.'  So  also  where 
one  Evangelist,  Mat.  13.  15,  has,  '  Lest 
they  should  be  converted  and  I  should 
heal  them,'  another,  Mark,  4.  12,  has 
'Lest  they  should  be  converted,  and  their 
sins  should  be  forgiveji  Xhcm.^  In  like 
manner  it  will  be  perceived  by  reference 
to  Mat.  9.  2—6,  that  Christ's  healing 
and  forgiving  siris,  in  the  case  of  the 
paralytic,  are  spoken  of  as  nearly  identi- 
cal acts.  Yet  we  cannot  but  think  that 
there  was  still  more  in  the  incident  and 
the  language  here  recorded.  We  know 
that  nothing  was  more  common  than  for 
God  to  make  outward  actions  and  events 
a  significant  medium  of  conveying  moral 
lessons.  The  present  incident  we  re- 
gard of  this  character.  God  ordered  in 
his  providence  that  the  Israelites  should 
be  brought  to  this  bitter  Ibuntain,  where 
an  occasion  should  be  afford  d  them  of 
evincing  and  thus  of  learning  the  bitter- 
ness  of  their  own  hearts.  And  as  he 
healed  the  waters  by  the  miraculous 
exertion  of  his  power,  so  he  here  tells 
them  that  he  is  the  Lord  Avho  heals 
them  also.  He  only  can  infuse  a  heal- 
ing virtue  into  the  embittered  and  em- 
poisoned fountain  of  the  human  heart. 

27.  They  came  to  Elim  where  u-ere, 

&c.     This  spot  is  supposed,  with  suffi- 

j  cient  probability,  to  be  the  same  as  that 

which  now  bears  the  name   of  Wady 

I  Gharendrl,  which  is  the  largest  of  all  the 

torrent-beds  on  the  western  side  of  the 

I  peninsula.    It  is  about  a  mile  broad,  and 

I  extends  away  indefinitely  to  thi»  north- 

!  east.    This  pleasant  valley  abounds  m 


200 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

AND  they  a  took  their  journey 
from  Elim,  and  all  the  congre- 
gation  of  the   children   of  Israel 

a  Numb.  33.  10,  11. 


date  or  palm-trees,  tamarisks,  and  aca- 
cias of  ditferent  species.  But  the  springs 
are  not  at  present  immediately  in  the 
common  route,  though  a  small  rivulet  of 
brackish  water  runs  through  the  valley, 
rendering  it  one  of  the  principal  stations 
on  the  route  to  Sinai.  Burckhardt  says 
of  it,  'If  we  admit  Bir  Hoivara  to  be 
the  Marah  of  Exodus,  then  Wady  Gha- 
rendel  is  probably  Elim,  with  its  wells 
and  its  date-trees  ;  an  opinion  enter- 
tained by  Niebuhr.  The  non-existence 
at  present  of  twelve  Avells  at  Gharen- 
del,  must  not  be  considered  as  evi- 
dence against  this  conjecture  ;  for  Nie- 
buhr says  that  Ids  companions  obtained 
water  here  by  digging  to  a  very  small 
depth;  and  there  was  a  great  plenty  of  it 
when  I  ])assed.  Water,  in  fact,  is  read- 
ily found  by  digging,  in  every  fertile 
valley  in  Arabia,  and  wells  are  thus 
easily  formed,  which  are  quickly  filled 

up  by  the  sands.' IF  Three  score  and 

ten  palm-trees.  Or  'date-trees,'  as  the 
fruit  of  the  palm  is  called  date.  The 
presence  of  the  palm  in  the  arid  regions 
of  the  East  is  an  unerring  sign  of  wa- 
ter. It  is  a  tree  wliich  rises  to  a  great 
height ;  the  stalk  is  very  strait,  but 
knotty,  and  the  centre,  instead  of  being 
solid  like  the  trunk  of  otlier  trees,  is 
filled  with  ])ith.  The  leaves  are  six  or 
eight  feet  long,  and  when  spread  out, 
broad  in  proportion.  It  is  crowned  at 
the  top  with  a  large  tuft  of  leaves  which 
never  fall  off,  but  always  continue  in 
the  same  flourishing  verdure.  This  tree 
attains  its  greatest  vigor  about  thirty 
years  after  being  jdanted,  and  continues 
in  full  vigor  seventy  years  longer,  bear- 
ing all  this  while  every  year  about 
three  or  four  hundred  pounds  weight  of  I 
dates.  This  fruit  grows  below  the  leaves  I 


came  unto  the  wilderness  of  b  Sin, 
which  is  between  Elim  and  Sinai, 
on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  second 
month  after  their  departing  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt. 

b  Ezek.  30.  15. 

in  clusters,  and  is  of  a  sweet  and  agree- 
able taste.  The  palm  is  put  to  an  im- 
mense variety  of  uses  in  the  East,  and 
is  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  region  in- 
comparably the  most  important  and 
valuable  production  of  all  the  vegetable 
world.  It  forms  therefore  a  suitable 
emblem  of  the  righteous  in  their  flour- 
ishing condition,  Ps.  92.  12 — 14,  and  the 
bearing  of  its  branches  is  a  badge  of 
victory  ;  Rev.  7.  9,  'After  this,  I  beheld, 
and  lo  !  a  great  number  which  no  man 
could  number.  . .  stood  before  the  throne 
and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white 
robes,  and  palms  (palm  branches)  in 
their  hands,'  &c. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

1.  And  they  took  their  journey  from 
Elim,  &c.  Upon  comparing  this  ac- 
count with  that  given  Num.  10.  11,  we 
find  that  previous  to  their  reaching  the 
wilderness  of  Sin,  they  came  again  upon 
the  shore  of  the  Red  Sea,  where,  or  at 
Elim,  they  must  have  abode  for  some 
time ;  for  as  it  was  thirty  days  after 
leaving  Egypt  before  they  arrived  at  the 
wilderness  of  Sin,  and  we  have  not  more 
than  ten  days  accounted  for  at  the  pre- 
vious stage,  twenty  days  remain  to  be 
distributed  between  the  two  or  three 
last  stations.  But  it  is  obvious  from 
other  parts  of  the  history,  that  the  wri- 
ter does  not  specify  every  place  where 
they  encamped,  but  only  the  most  im- 
portant, or  those  in  which  some  remark- 
able incident   occurred. H  Came  to 

the  wilderness  of  Sin.  Heb.  nm?3  ^i< 
■^"0  el  midbar  Sin.  No  part  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  Israelites  is  more  perplex- 
ing and  obscure  than  that  which  relates 
to  the  topograpliy  of  tlie  places  and 
stations  mentioned  on  their  route  from 


B.  C.  1 191.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


201 


2  And  the  whole  congregation  of 
the  children  of  Israel  c  murmured 

c  Ch.  15.  24.     rs.  106.  25.     1  Cor.  10.  10. 


Egypt  to  Canaan.  We  cannot,  at  best, 
assure  ourselves  of  any  thing  more  than 
an  approximation  to  the  truth  in  most 
instances,  and  in  many  cases  not  even 
to  that.  As  to  the  present  passage,  it 
is  to  be  remarked  that  the  Scriptures 
distinguish  two  deserts  of  Sin,  one  be- 
ing written  '^"'D  sin,  the  other  "^i^Z  tzin. 
The  former  is  the  one  spoken  of  here, 
the  latter  in  Deut.  32.  51.  Num.  13.  21. 
—27.  14.— 34.  3.  Josh.  15.  3.  Of  the 
present  we  know  little  more  than  what 
is  here  said  of  it,  that  it  lay  between 
Elim  and  Sinai.  What  is  implied  in 
this  may  perhaps  as  probably  be  learned 
from  the  ensuing  extract  as  from  any 
other  source.  'A  chain  of  mountains 
called  El  Tyh  stretches  across  the  pe- 
ninsula of  Sinai,  from  the  Gulf  of  Aka- 
ba,  to  near  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of 
Suez.  The  common  road,  which  we 
suppose  the  Israelites  to  have  taken — 
and  which  they  most  obviously  would 
take  wherever  they  might  have  crossed 
between  Suez  and  Birket  Faroun — turns 
off  from  the  shores  of  the  gulf,  south- 
east towards  Sinai,  after  the  extremity 
of  these  mountains  towards  the  west 
has  been  rounded.  We  understand  the 
desert  of  Sin  to  comprehend  most  of  the 
space  to  be  traversed  between  the  point 
where  the  road  turns  off  to  within  a  few 
miles  of  Mount  Serbal,  which  is  the 
first  of  the  larger  mountains  of  the  Sinai 
group.  This  is  of  course,  from  its  situ- 
ation, not  a  flat  and  uniform  desert ;  but 
it  is  still  a  desolate  wilderness,  but 
more  or  less  hilly  and  rocky,  with  val- 
leys of  various  dimensions,  but  gener- 
ally sandy  or  stony,  strewed  with  the 
bones  of  camels,  generally  without 
plants  or  herbage,  and  also  without  wa- 
ter, except  in  the  rainy  season,  when 
the  valleys  are  traversed  by  the  tor- 
rents that  descend  from  the  mountains. 
Burckhardt,  who  however  says  nothing 


against  Moses  and  Aaron  in  the 
wilderness: 
3  And  the  children  of  Israel  said 


about  the  identity  of  this  region  with 
the  desert  of  Sin,  relates  that  while 
traversing  it  from  Sinai,  his  party  met 
several  Arabs,  who  had  started  in  the 
morning  from  the  well  of  Morkha,  and 
had  ventured  on  the  journey  without 
water,  or  the  hope  offindins;  any  till  the 
following  day,  when  they  would  reach 
Wady  Feiran.  Now  Morklia  is  near  the 
gulf  at  one  extremity  of  this  desert  re- 
gion, and  Wady  Feiran  near  Mount  Ser- 
bal at  the  otlier,  the  distance  between 
the  two  points  being  about  thirty  miles  ; 
and  we  suppose  this  to  have  been  nearly 
the  route  of  the  Israelites.  We  do  not 
mean  to  say  that  the  desert  of  Sin  was 
limited  to  the  district  we  mention  ;  we 
only  attempt  to  define  its  limits  in  the 
direction  of  the  journey,  at  the  same 
time  not  denying  that  the  term  might 
be  applicable  to  all  the  country  between 
the  shore  of  the  gulf  on  the  west,  and 
the  Sinai  group  on  the  east.'  Pict.  Bib. 
2.  And  the  whole  congregation  mur- 
mured, &c.  Individual  exceptions  it 
may  be  presumed  there  were,  but  the 
great  body  of  the  host  are  to  be  con- 
sidered as  having  been  justly  liable  to 
the  charge.  They  had  now  subsisted 
thirty  days  upon  the  provisions  brought 
out  of  Egypt,  and  it  may  well  be  sup- 
posed that  their  stock  was  nearly,  if  not 
altogether  exhausted.  Two  millions  of 
people,  encamped  in  a  barren  desert, 
and  beginning  to  find  themselves  short 
of  food,  would  be  very  easily  pervaded 
by  a  general  alarm  lest  the  horrors  of 
famine  should  soon  be  upon  them.  To 
exercise  faith  in  these  circumstances  in 
opposition  to  the  dictates  of  sense,  was 
doubtless  no  easy  matter.  Accordingly 
finding  themselves  reduced  to  straits, 
their  impatient  spirits  again  utter  the 
language  of  murmuring  against  Moses 
and  Aaron,  whom  they  invidiously  ac- 
cuse, if  not  of  an  express  design  to 


202 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


starve  them  in  the  wilderness,  yet  with 
bringing  them  into  circumstances  where 
they  had  every  reason  to  fear  that  this 
would  be  the  actual  result.   It  is  scarce- 
ly possible  to  conceive  any  thing  more 
ungrateful   or  perverse.     Indeed   their 
conduct  was  marked  by  the  double  brand 
of  impious  and  absurd.     It  was  very 
culpable  towards  God.     This  was  nei- 
ther the  first  nor  greatest  extremity  to 
which  they  had  been  reduced,  and  out 
of  which  they  had  been  delivered.  That 
which  they  had  experienced  at  the  Red 
Sea  was  much  greater.    There  they  had 
become  acquainted  with  God  as  one 
who  never  suffers  those  that  hope  in 
him  to  be  confounded.    Why  therefore 
do  they  not  trust  in  him  now  ?  why  not 
resignedly  commit  themselves  to  him? 
He  had  promised  to  conduct  them  to 
Canaan,  and  he  will  keep  his  word.    If 
they  do  not  know  where  to  obtain  food, 
neither  did  they  know  how  to  pass  the 
Red  Sea ;  and  yet  they  did  pass  it.    So 
they  were  bound  to  believe  that  on  this 
occasion  he  would  not  fail  to  supply  their 
wants — that  'bread  should  be  given  and 
water  should  sure.'    Again,  a  moment's 
thought  will  show  us  that  their  deport- 
ment was  now  less  absurd  than  wicked. 
What  ground   had    they  for  ascribing 
such    base    intentions    to    Moses    and 
Aaron  ?   Had  they  any  more  to  eat  than 
the  rest  ?  and  were  not  they  as  much  in 
danger  of  perishing  as  themselves?  One 
would  think   that   reason,   as  well   as 
gratitude,  must  have  become  extinct  in 
men  who  could  in  these  circumstances 
have  preferred  such  a  charge.    Yet  this 
is  not  all.     The  very  people  who  had 
seen  all  the  first-born  of  Egypt  slain  in 
one  night  on  their  account,  now  virtu- 
ally  wish   that    they  had    themselves 
perished  in  like  manner.   The  very  peo- 
ple that  had  sighed  and  cried  by  reason 
of  their  bondage  in  that  country,  now 
magnify  its  plenty,  because  they  had  sal 
by  the  flesh-pots  and  ate  bread  to  the 
full  !     How  strange  to  hear  them  speak 
as  if  it  had  been  better  to  drag  out  a 


wretched,  degraded  life  and  die  a  miser- 
able  death    in   Egypt,   provided    they 
could  have  plenty  of  food,  than  to  live 
under  the  guidance  of  the  heavenly  pil- 
lar  in  the  wilderness,  with  God  himself 
for  their  almoner,  simply  because  they 
find   themselves  pinched  a  little  with 
hunger,  as  they  had  before  been  with 
thirst !     After  all  we  cannot  well  doubt 
that  in  their  present  distress  they  paint 
their  former  comforts  in  altogether  too 
glowing  colors.     What  they  call  plenty 
now,  they  probably  did  not  call  so  then  ; 
but  it  is  easy  to  over-estimate  the  past 
when  men  are  disposed  to  aggravate  to 
themselves  or  others  the  hardships  of 
their  present  lot.     It  heightens,  more- 
over, our   sense  of  their  unreasonable 
^and  guilty  conduct,  when  we  consider 
that  they  were  really  in  no  danger  of 
dying  for   want   in   the  wilderness   so 
long  as  they  had  their  flocks  and  herds 
with  them.    But,  alas  !  we  recognise  in 
this,  as  in  other  instances  of  their  per- 
verseness,  but  too  faithful  a  picture  of 
our  fallen  nature.     How  prone  are  we 
to  fret  and  murmur  under  any  present 
inconvenience  !     That  which    troubles 
us  for  the  moment  is  the  greatest  of  all 
troubles.      Past  dangers    and   deliver- 
ances, past  supports  and  comforts,  are 
all  forgotten.     Our  minds  dwell  upon 
present  evil,  and  our  tempers  are  irrita- 
ble,  fretful,  and  impatient.     We  quar- 
rel it  may  be,  with  our  best  friends,  and 
murmur  in  spirit,  though  not  perhaps 
with  our  lips,  against  God.    Even  those 
who  profess  to  be  the  only  the  spiritual 
seed  of  Abraham,  may  adopt  the  lan- 
guage of  his  literal  seed,  Ps.  106.  6,  7, 
13, 14,  'We  have  sinned  with  our  fathers, 
we  have  committed  iniquity,  we  have 
done  wickedly.    Our  fathers  understood 
not  thy  wonders  in  Egypt ;  they  remem- 
bered not  the  multitude  of  thy  mercies  j 
but  provoked  him  at  the  sea,  even  at 
the  Red   Sea.      They  soon   forgat   his 
works,  they  waited  not  for  his  counsel : 
But  lusted  exceedingly  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  tempted  God  m  the  desert. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


203 


unto  them,  ^  Would  to  God  we  had 
died  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord  in 
the  land  of  Egypt,  e  when  we  sat 
by  the  liesh-pols,  and  when  we  did 
eat  bread  to  the  full :  for  ye  have 
brought  us  forth  into  this  wilder- 
ness, to  kill  this  whole  assembly 
with  hunger. 

J  Lam.  4.  9.     e  Numb.  11.4,5. 

■ IF  This  whole  assembly.  Heb.  '^'Zi  rifc^ 

tltn  ^npn  eth  kol  halckahol  hazzeh, 
this  whole  church,  as  the  term  is  usually 
rendered  in  the  Greek.  Comp.  Acts,  7, 
'This  is  he  that  was  i?i  the  church  in 
the  wilderness  with  the  angel  that  spake 
to  him,  &c.' 

4.  Then  said  the  Lord  unto  Moses, 
&c.  Although  the  murmuring  was  not 
directly  but  only  indirectly  against  God, 
yet  he  at  once  takes  up  the  cause  as  his 
own.  Instead,  however,  of  expressing 
the  resentment  of  an  insulted  sovereign 
and  benefactor,  he  utters  the  gracious 
purpose  of  overcoming  their  evil  wdth 
good,  and  of  pouring  down  blessings  in- 
stead of  wrath  upon  the  murmuring  host. 
Complaining  is  to  be  silenced  by  com- 
plying, and  men,  miworthy  of  the  mean- 
est earthly  fare  have  the  promise  of  a 
daily  supply  of  bread  from  heaven  ! 
But  this,  though  not  the  manner  of  men, 
is  the  manner  of  God.  He  has  gifts 
even  for  the  rebellious,  and  the  un- 
speakable gift  of  salvation  tlirough  his 
Son  was  imparted  in  manifest  contra- 
riety to  our  deserts.  He  hath  com- 
mended his  love  to  us  in  that  while  we 
were  yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us. 
Though  we  have  rendered  to  him  only 
disobedience,  guilt,  and  unthankfulness, 
yet  how  have  they  been  repaid  ?  Not 
by  a  visitation  of  vengeance,  not  by  an 
award  of  judgment,  but  by  raining  upon 
us  the  bread  of  life  from  heaven  !  As 
to  the  grand  design  of  this  miraculous 
provision  the  remarks  of  Henry  are  strik- 
ingly ap|)ropriate.  'Man  being  made  out 
of  tin-  furlh  his  maker  has  wisely  order- 
ed liim  food  out  of  the  cartli,  Ps.  101.  14. 


4  H  Then  said  the  Lord  unto  Mo- 
ses, Behold,  I  will  rain  'bread  from 
heaven  for  you;  and  the  people 
shall  go  out  and  gather  a  certain 
rate  every  day,  that  I  may  s  prove 
them  whether  they  will  walk  in 
my  law,  or  no. 


(  Ps.  78.  24. 
1  Cor.  10.  3. 


25.  &  105.  40.     John  6.  31,32. 
S  ch.  15.  25.     Deut  8.  2,  16. 


But  the  people  of  Israel,  typifying  the 
church  of  the  tirst-born  that  are  written 
in  heaven,  and  born  from  above,  and 
being  themselves  under  the  conduct  and 
government  of  heaven,  receiving  their 
charters,  laws,  and  commissions  from 
heaven,  from  heaven  also  received  their 
food  :  their  law  being  given  by  the  dis- 
position of  angels,  they  did  eat  angels' 

food.' IT  I  will  rain  bread.     Heb. 

Cn^  *|">l3?2>3  mamtir  lehem,  I  am  rain- 
ing bread,  or  food;  i.  e.  about  to  rain  ; 
the  same  phraseology  that  occurs  in 
announcing  the  rain  of  the  deluge.  Gen. 

6.  13,  17. IT  tI  certain  rate  everyday. 

Heb.  IJ^lin  tlT^  "im  debar  yom  beyo- 
mo,  the  matter  of  a  day  in  his  day;  i.  e. 
they  were  to  collect  on  each  day  the 
portion  necessary  for  that  day,  but  no 
more.  They  were  not  to  collect  to  day 
what  would  not  be  required  till  to-mor- 
row. It  was  but  another  form  of  en- 
joining upon  them  the  Savior's  rule, 
'Take  no  thought  for  to-morrow  what 
ye  shall  eat  or  drink.'  God  would  school 
them  to  simple-hearted  dependence  on 

his  daily  providence. If  That  I  may 

prove  thcni  whether,  &c.  That  is,  that 
1  may  atford  them  an  occasion  of  testi- 
fying whether  they  will  trust  me  and 
walk  by  faith  in  the  absence  of  all  hu- 
man means  of  supply,  or  not.  This 
lesson,  or  '  law,'  though  hard  to  learn, 
is  one  that  God  would  have  deeply  en- 
graven upon  the  hearts  of  his  children 
in  all  ages.  A  state  of  constant  con- 
scious dependence  upon  him  is  the  state 
to  which  he  aims  to  bring  all  his  peo- 
ple. And  this,  could  we  realize  it 
aright,  is  a  far  happier  state  than  any 


204 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


5  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  thai 
on  the  sixth  day  they  shall  prepare 
that  which  they  bring  in  ;  and  h  it 
shall  be  twice  as  much  as  they 
gather  daily. 

6  And  Moses  and  Aaron  said  unto 
all  the  children  of  Israel,  i  At  even, 
then  ye  shall  know  that  the  Lord 

h  See  ver.  22.  Lev.  25.  21.  i  See  ver.  12,  13. 
&  ch.  6,  7.     Numb.  16.  28,29,  30. 


other.  How  unspeakably  kind  and  con- 
descending in  the  great  Father  of  all  to 
assume  upon  himself  the  care  of  our  in- 
terests, and  relieve  our  minds  from  the 
oppressive  load  of  anxiety  which  we  so 
ol'ten  suffer  to  weigh  upon  them  !  Not 
that  we  are  to  deem  ourselves  exempted 
from  the  necessity  of  diligent  exertion; 
not  that  we  are  to  fold  our  hands  in 
listless  torpor,  and  call  this  an  humble 
reliance  on  heaven ;  but  having  done 
what  we  can,  we  are  not  to  be  solicit- 
ous ;  we  are  not  to  give  way  to  un- 
believing fears  lest  w-e  should  not  be 
provided  for.  Our  heavenly  Father  know- 
eth  that  we  have  need  of  these  things. 
He  will  take  care  of  his  children,  and 
let  them  not  be  surprised  or  stumbled 
if  they  should  themselves  painfully 
'proved'  on  this  score  at  more  than  one 
station  of  their  wanderings  in  this  wil- 
derness world.  The  original  term  ,102 
nasah,  to  tempt  or  try,  is  the  same  as 
that  applied  elsewhere  in  similar  con- 
nexions, and  which  is  fully  explained 
in  the  Note  on  Gen.  22.  1.  The  pro- 
nominal suffix,  however,  is  not  'them,' 
as  in  our  translation,  but  '  him,'  repre- 
senting the  whole  people  as  spoken  of 
as  one  man. 

5.  On  the  sixth  day  they  shall  prepare 
that  which  they  bring  in.  From  this  it 
appears  that  the  manna  gathered  on  the 
sixth  day  was  not  eaten  in  the  form  in 
which  it  was  brought  in.  It  was  first 
bruised  in  a  mortar,  or  ground  in  a  mill, 
and  then  baked  into  bread.  This  pro- 
cess,-whatever  it  was,  was  to  be  per- 
formed on  the  day  before  the  sabbath, 


hath  brought  you  out  from  the  land 
of  Egypt: 

7  And  in  the  morning,  then  ye 
shall  see  ''  the  glory  of  the  Lord': 
for  that  he  heareth  your  murmur- 
ings  against  the  Lord  :  And  i  what 
are  we,  that  ye  murmur  against 
us? 

k  See  ver.  10.  Isai.  35.  2.  &  40.  6.  John 
11.4,40.     iNurnb.  16.  11. 

that  both  their  hands  and  their  minds 
might  be  unencumbered  with  domestic 
cares  during  the  season  of  worship. 
Whether  the  same  or  a  similar  prepara- 
tion of  the  manna  was  necessary  on  the 
other  days  of  tlie  week,  it  is  not  possi- 
ble to  determine.  The  probability,  we 
think,  is  that  it  was  not. 

6.  At  even,  then  shall  ye  knoic,  &c. 
The  Israelites  had  charged  Moses  and 
Aaron  with  bringing  them  out  of  Egypt 
as  if  from  their  own  motion.  Moses, 
therefore,  here  assures  them,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  they  should  soon  have 
evidence  that  it  was  Jehovah,  and  not 
his  servants,  who  had  brought  them  out 
of  the  land  of  bondage. 

7.  In  the  mornings  then  ye  shall  see 
the  glory  of  the  Lord.  That  is,  shall 
behold  the  cloudy  pillar,  the  Shekinah, 
resplendent  with  a  peculiar  brightness 
and  glory,  as  a  signal  of  the  Lord's  spe- 
cial presence,  both  to  hear  your  mur- 
murings  and  to  supply  your  wants.  It 
appears  that  on  several  occasions  the 
tumults  of  the  people  were  assauged  by 
some  visible  change  in  the  ordinary  ap- 
pearance of  the  pillar  of  cloud,  betoken- 
ing, perhaps,  by  a  fierce  and  vehement 
glow  the  kindling  of  the  divine  dis- 
pleasure. See  Num.  12.  5--14,  10—16, 
42.  Or  the  phrase  '  glory  of  the  Lord' 
may  be  but  another  expression  for  the 
miraculous  work,  the  sending  of  the 
manna,  which  so  strikingly  manifested 
his  glory.  Thus,  in  like  manner,  in  re- 
ference to  the  miraculous  work  of  Christ 
in  raising  Lazarus  from  the  dead  it  is 
said,  Jolui,  U.  40,  'Said  I  not  unto  thee 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


205 


8  And  Moses  said,  This  shall  he 
when  the  Lord  shall  give  you  in 
the  evening  flesh  to  eat,  and  in  the 
morning  bread  to  the  full ;  tor  that 
the  Lord  heareth  your  niurmur- 
ings  Avhich  ye  murmur  against 
him :    and   what   are   we  ?    your 

that  if  thou  wouldst  believe  thou  shouldst 
see  the  glory  of  God  V  i.  e.  the  glorious 
work  of  God.  So  also  Num.  14.  21,  22, 
'  glory'  is  used  in  a  sense  equivalent  to 
striking  achievements  of  divine  power; 
'  But  as  truly  as  I  live,  all  the  earth 
shall  be  filled  with  the  glory  of  the 
Lord.  Because  all  those  men  which 
have  seen  my  glory,  and  my  miracles 
(or,  even  my  miracles),  &c.,  shall  not 
see  the  land  which  I  sware  unto  their 
fathers.'  The  first  is  doubtless  the  most 
primary  and  legitimate  sense,  as  ap- 
pears from  V.  10  ;  and  we  cannot  ques- 
tion, from  the  ordinary  import  of  the 
glowing  or  burning  pillar  of  cloud,  that 
the  spectacle  now  predicted  was  in- 
tended to  intimate  to  them  the  fact  of 
the  divine  displeasure,  notwithstanding 
the  purpose  graciously  to  supply  their 
wants.  Thus  the  Jewish  commentator 
Abrabanel ;  'Their  seeing  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  is  not  to  be  understood  of  the 
bread,  or  the  flesh  he  sent  them,  but  of 
the  fire  which  appeared  to  all  the  people 
to  reprove  them  for  their  murmurings.' 

8.  The  Lord  shall  give  you  in  the 
evening  flesh  to  eat.  As  God  does  not 
always  withhold  in  displeasure,  so  he 
does  not  always  grant  in  love.  A  prom- 
ise of  bread  in  the  morning  is  precious 
information,  but  the  addition  of  flesh  to 
the  full  in  the  evening,  and  that  very 
evening,  wears  rather  the  appearance  of 
a  threatening.  When  our  desires  exceed 
the  bounds  of  wisdom  they  amount  to 
lusts,  and  if  God  deigns  to  gratify  our 
lusts  it  is  very  far  from  being  a  token 
for  good.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  suspi- 
cious ;  it  is  ominous  of  a  purpose  to 
chastise  us  through  the  natural  results 
of  our  own  folly. IT    For  that  the 

Vol.  I  18 


murmurmgs   are  not   against   us, 
but  m  against  the  Lord. 

9  II  And  Moses  spake  unto  Aaron, 
Say  unto  all  the  congregation  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  n  Come  near 


mSeo  1  Sam.  8. 
2.     nN'uinb.  10.  1 


Luke  10. 


Rom.  13. 


Lord  heareth,  &c.  These  words  con- 
firm the  idea  suggested  above,  that  the 
language  of  rebuke  and  threatening  is 
intermingled  with  that  of  favor.  Other- 
wise how  can  we  understand  it  as  a 
reason  for  supplying  their  wants,  that  he 
had  heard  their  murmurings  ?  Such  a 
reason  demanded  a  punishment  rather 
than  a  favor ;  and  we  can  have  no  doubt 
that  while  God  intended  to  bestow  upon 
them,  in  his  own  way,  the  requisite 
means  of  subsistence,  he  intended  at  the 
same  time  to  make  such  a  display  of 
himself  as  would  chasten,  humble,  and 
shame  his  people  in  view  of  their  sinful 

deportment. IT    Yoitr  murmurings 

are  not  against  us.  Not  so  much  against 
us  as  against  the  Lord.  So  1  Sam.  8.  7, 
'For  they  have  not  rejected  thee,  but 
they  have  rejected  me  ;'  i.  e.  not  so 
much  thee  as  me.  Jolin,  12,  44,  'He 
that  believeth  on  me,  believeth  not  on 
me,  but  on  him  that  sent  me  ;'  i.  e.  not 
so  much  on  me.  Chal.  'Your  murmur- 
ings are  not  against  us,  but  against  the 
Word  of  the  Lord.' 

9.  Come  near  before  the  Lord.  That 
is,  before  the  cloud  in  wliich  the  Lord's 
glorious  presence  was  manifested,  and 
which  for  the  present  constituted  the 
Shekinah  or  habitation  of  the  divine  Ma- 
jesty. The  symbols  of  God's  presence 
are  repeatedly  in  the  Scriptures  called 
by  his  name.  Thus  Uzzah  is  said,  1 
Chron.  13.  10,  to  have  died  'before  God  ;' 
whereas  in  2  Sam.  6. 7,  it  is  said,  'He  died 
by  the  ark  of  God.'  So  the  commandment, 
Ex.  23.  17,  'Three  times  in  the  year  all 
thy  males  shall  appear  before  the  Lord 
God,'  is  to  be  understood  of  appearing 
before  the  tabernacle  or  temple,  '  the 
place  which  the  Lord  did  choose  to  put 


206 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


before  the  Lord  :  for  he  hath  heard 
your  murmurmgs. 

10  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  Aaron 
spake  unto  the  whole  congregation 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  that  they 
looked  toward  tlie  wilderness,  and' 
behold,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  «  ap- 
peared in  the  cloud. 

11  H  And  the  Lord  spake  unto 
Moses,  saying. 

12  p  I  have  heard  the  murmurincs 


over.  7.  ch.  13.21.  Nuujb.  16.  19. 
6.  10,  11.     p  ver.  8. 


1  Kin^s 


his  name  there.-  Deut.  12.  5,  6.  Be- 
fore this  awful  symbol  they  were  now 
cited  to  appear,  as  before  a  tribunal. 

10.  They  looked  toward  the  wilder- 
ness. In  the  direction  in  which  they 
were  journeying,  whither  the  cloud  had 
probably  moved  in  advance  of  the  con- 
gregation.  IT   The  glory  of  the  Lord 

appeared  in  the  cloud.  Chal.  'The  Glory 
of  the  Lord  was  revealed.'  Arab.  'And 
lo,  the  Light  of  the  Lord  in  the  cloud.' 
That  is,  the  Shekinah  appeared  in  a 
new  aspect.  An  unwonted  glowing  fiery 
brightness  appeared  in  the  guiding  pil- 
lar, which  on  ordinary  occasions  pre- 
sented to  the  eye  merelj'^  an  opaque 
towering  mass  of  cloud,  in  which  the 
divine  Majesty  was  supposed  to  dwell, 
and  did  dwell.  Its  preternatural  re- 
splendent appearance  was  obviously  a 
token  of  the  displeasure  of  God  towards 
his  people.  See  Remarks  above,  p.  164 
—168. 

11,  12.  The  Lord  spake  iinto  Moses, 
&c.  These  two  verses  are  undoubtedly 
designed  to  acquaint  us  with  the  source 
and  authority  of  the  annunciation  which 
Moses  gave  v.  6,  7,  and  therefore  the 
verb  '  spake'  should  be  rendered  in  the 
pluperfect  tense,  '  had  spoken.'  This 
makes  the  narrative  clear,  and  super- 
sedes the  necessity  for  which  some  com- 
mentators contend,  of  transposing  these 
verses  so  as  to  bring  them  in  immedi- 

atehr  after  v.  3. IT  At  even.     Heb. 

tD'^j"l3/n  '\'^'2  bi'71  ha-arbayim,  between 


of  the  children  of  Israel ;  speak  un- 
to them,  saying,  q  At  even  ye  shall 
eat  flesh,  and  rin  the  morning  ye 
shall  be  filled  with  bread :  and  ye 
shall  know  thati  o'm  the  Lord  your 
God. 

13  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  at 
even  s  the  quails  came  up,  and  cov- 
ered the  camp :  and  in  the  morn- 
ing t  the  dew  lay  round  about  the 
host. 

Tver.  6.  Tver.  7.  s  Numb.  11.  31.  Ps. 
78. 27,  28.  «fc  105.  40.    t  Numb.  11.  9. 


the  two  evenings.  Gr.  to  -npoi  la-Kcpav, 
towards  evening;  i.e.  in  the  afternoon. 
See  Note  on  Ex.  12.  6. 

13.  At  even  the  quails  came  up.  Heb. 
I^TL'n  b^^ri  ta^l  ha-sseldv,  the  quail  (col- 
lect, sing.)  came  up.  The  'quail'  is  a 
bird  of  the  gallinaceous  kind,  some- 
what resembling  the  partridge.  Has- 
selquist,  speaking  of  the  larger  species 
of  quail,  says,  'It  is  of  the  size  of  the 
turtle-dove.  I  have  met  with  it  in  the 
wilderness  of  Palestine  near  the  shores 
of  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  Jordan,  between 
Jordan  and  Jericho,  and  in  the  deserts 
of  Arabia  Petraea.  If  the  food  of  the 
Israelites  was  a  bird,  this  is  certain- 
ly it ;  being  so  common  in  the  places 
through  which  they  passed.'  Some  com- 
mentators have  supposed  that  the  orig- 
inal word  iViJ  salav,  denoted  a  species 
of  locust,  which  is  well  known  to  have 
constituted  anciently  an  article  of  food 
among  the  inhabitants  of  that  region, 
and  which  is  in  fact  eaten  by  the  Arabs 
of  the  present  day.  But  to  this  it  is  an 
insuperable  objection,  that  the  Psalmist, 
in  describing  this  particular  food  of  the 
Israelites,  says,  Ps.  7S.  27,  'He  rained 
Jlesh  also  upon  them  as  dust,  and  feath' 
ered  fowls  like  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.' 
They  '  came  up'  from  the  Arabian  Gulf, 
across  which  they  fly  in  the  spring  in 
great  numbers,  and  are  often  so  fatigued 
j  after  their  passage,  and  fly  so  low,  as 
I  to  become  an  easy  prey  wherever  they 
'  alight.    Wisd.  19.  12,  'For  quails  came 


B.  C.  UOL] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


207 


14  And  when  the  dew  tliat  hiy 
■was  gone  up,  beliold,  upon  the  face 
of  the  wilderness  Ihere  lay  "  a  small 
round  thing,  as  small  as  the  hoar 
frost  on  the  ground : 

u  Numb,  11.7.  Deut.  8.  3.  Neh.  9. 15.  Ps. 
78.  24.  &  105.  40. 


up  unto  them  from  the  sea  for  their  con- 
tentment.' Another  miraculous  supply 
of  quails  was  granted  to  the  Israelites 
about  a  year  after  this,  of  which  we 
have  a  detailed  account.  Num.  11.  31 — 
35.  David  probably  alludes  to  both  when 
he  says,  Ps.  105.  40,  'The  people  asked, 
and  he  brought  quails,  and  satisfied 
them  with  the  bread   of  heaven  (the 

manna).' IT    The   dew  lay.     Heb. 

^t:n  tnii'13  nn^n  kayethah  shikbaih 
hattal,  there  was  a  laying  (or  layer)  of 
dew.  Chal.  'There  was  a  descent  of 
dew.'  Arab.  'There  was  a  spreading 
of  dew.' 

14.  And  when  the  dew  that  lay  was 
gone  up,  &c.  Heb.  V^n  TQ^D  b:Pm 
vattaal  shikhath  hattal,  and  the  layer  of 
dew  came  up  ;  i.e.  appeared  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth,  without  any  special 
reference  to  its  originating  in  the  air, 
and  much  les^s  without  intending  to  con- 
vey the  idea  of  its  evaporation  into  the 
atmosphere,  as  our  translation  has  er- 
roneously rendered  it.  The  phrase  in 
the  original  is  precisely  the  same  with 
that  applied  to  the  quails,  v.  13,  p3>ri 
1^'iL'n  taal  hasselav,  the  quail  came  up; 
i.  e.  made  its  appearance.  There  is  no 
good  reason  for  rendering  the  particle  1 
and  by  '  when'  as  is  done  in  our  version. 
The  true  meaning  of  the  clause  must  be 
determined  by  what  is  more  explicitly 
affirmed  of  the  phenomenon.  Num.  11. 
9,  'And  when  the  dew  fell  npon  the 
camp  in  the  night,  the  manna  fell  upon 
it  j'  from  which  it  does  not  appear  that 
the  ordinary  dew  first  vanished  away 
before  the  manna  was  seen.  On  the 
contrary,  the  substance  resembling  the 
hoar-frost  lay  upon  the  dew.  It  was 
perhaps  imbedded  thus  in  the  morning 


15  And  when  the  children  of  Is- 
rael saw  it,  they  said  one  to  an- 
other, It  is  manna  :  for  they  wist  not 
what  it  was.  And  Moses  said  unto 
them,  X  This  is  the  bread  which 
the  Lord  hath  given  you  to  eat. 

:»  Jolin  6.  31,  4'J,  53.     1  Cor.  10.3. 

dew  in  order  that  a  due  degree  of  moist- 
ure might  be  imparted  to  it,  and  that  it 
might  be  gathered  clean  and  i'rce  from 
the  dust  or  sand  of  tlie  desert.  It  was 
made  to  fall  '  u})ou  the  face  of  the  wil- 
derness,' or  without  the  precincts  of  the 
camp,  probably  because  the  camp  was 
not  so  clean  a  place  for  the  purpose. — 
IT  A  small  round  thing.  Heb.  pi 
DSDn?2  dak  mehusjios,  from  the  root 
ppl  dakak,  signifying  to  beat  small  or 
fine,  to  comminute,  to  triturate  ;  and 
hence  as  an  adjective  siaalt,  minute, 
atom-like.  It  would  seem  to  have  been 
a  fine  powdered  substance,  like  flour, 
and  perhaps  a  pretty  large  mixture  of 
dew  was  necessary  to  give  it  sufficient 
coherence  to  enable  them  to  gather  it. 
As  to  the  connected  word  CL'Cni'i  me- 
husphos,  though  rendered  round,  it  is  of 
extremely  uncertain  sense,  occurring  no 
where  else  but  here,  and  derived  from 
an  unknown  root.  From  a  comparison 
of  the  cognate  dialects  Castell  ehcits 
the  sense  of  beat,  pounded,  pulverised; 
Gesenius  that  of  decorticatum  or  some- 
thing pca/et/ ojf;  i.e.  scaly, flaky;  and 
Michaelis  that  o[  snow-like,  which  lat- 
ter Rosenmuller  very  confidently  adopts 
as  the  true  sense,  particularly  as  it  is 
immediately  after  compared  to  the  hoar- 
frost. But  It  is  still  a  field  of  con- 
jecture. 

15.  They  said  one  to  another,  It  is 
manna;  for  they  wist  not  what  it  was. 
Heb.  J^in  y2  man-hu.  The  rendering 
in  our  translation  is  manifestly  incor- 
rect and  contradictory,  and  should  be 
exchanged  for  that  in  the  margin,  'What 
is  this?'  For  how  could  the  Israelites 
be  ignorant  what  it  was,  if  they  at  once 
declared  it  to  be  manna?     Josephus 


208 


EXODUS. 


[B.C.  149r 


says  expressly  that  '  man'  is  a  particle 
of  inlerrogalion,  and  so  the  Septuagint 
understands  it — n  ccjti  tovto,  what  is 
this?  It  is  but  proper  to  remark  here, 
however,  that  another,  and  perhaps  on 
the  wliole  a  better  derivation  of  the  term 
itself  is  given  by  most  of  the  Jewish 
and  many  Christian  critics.  This  is  to 
trace  its  etymology  to  nj?3  manah,  to 
prepare,  appoint.,  determine,  apportion, 
whence  by  apocope  of  the  las^t  letter 
yz  man,  the  same  as  il]?3  manah,  a 
part,  a  portion,  a  prepared  allowance. 
Thus  we  find  the  latter  employed,  1 
Sam.  1.  4.  5,  'And  when  the  time  was 
that  Elkanah  otTered,  he  gave  to  Penin- 
nah  his  wife,  and  to  all  her  sons  and 
her  daughters,  portions  (mD?3  manoth). 
But  unto  Hannah  he  gave  a  worthy ;30?- 
tion  (n^^  manah)  for  he  loved  Hannah; 
but  the  Lord  had  shut  up  her  womb.' 
1  Sam.  9.  23,  'And  Samuel  said  unto 
the  cook,  Bring  the  portion  (nD>3  ma- 
nah)  which  I  gave  thee,  of  which  I  said 
unto  thee,  Set  it  by  thee.'  Ps.  11.  6, 
'  This  shall  be  the  portion  (rC/3  me- 
nath)  of  their  cup.'  That  an  abbrevia- 
tion of  the  word  from  r!3?3  manah  to  ^2 
man  should  occur  under  the  circum- 
stances is  very  natural,  as  the  next  word 
begins  with  fl  h,  the  very  letter  elided, 
and  similar  contractions  in  regard  to 
the  verb  HZ^  manah  are  very  common. 
Thus  Ps.  61.  7,  'O  prepare  (yz  man) 
mercy  and  truth  for  him.'  Jonah,  1.  17, 
'Now  the  Lord  had  prepared  ("l^"^  ye- 
man)  a  great  fish.'  Dan.  1.  5,  'And  the 
king  appointed  {yz"^  yeman)  them  a 
daily  provision,  &c.'  As,  therefore, 
both  the  form  and  the  signification  favor 
this  etymology,  there  is,  we  conceive, 
little  hazard  in  saying  with  the  most 
learned  of  the  Rabbins,  that  man  sig- 
nifies the  food  appointed,  prepared  for, 
and  doled  out  to  the  children  of  Israel 
as  their  portion.  Such  a  name  was  ap- 
propriate to  this  miraculous  food,  while 
there  is  something  undignified,  to  say 
the  least,  in  the  idea  that  this  super- 
natural aliment  should  always  be  called 


'what,'  simply  because  that,  upon  its 
first  appearance,  they  said,  'what  is  it?' 
Although  it  is  true  that  they  did  not 
distinctly  know  what  it  was  when  it 
appeared,  and  they  had  no  particular 
name  by  which  to  express  it,  yet  they 
had  been  assured  by  Moses,  verse  12, 
that  they  should  be  satisfied  with  food, 
and  they  accordingly  conjectured  that 
what  they  saw  was  the  portion  intend- 
ed for  them  from  heaven,  and  applied 
to  it  the  proper  term  for  expressing  that 
idea. — It  can  scarcely  be  necessary  to 
inform  the  reader  that  attempts  have 
been  made  to  identify  this  manna  with 
the  natural  juices  or  gums  of  certam 
trees  or  shrubs  to  which  the  name  has 
been  given.  The  strongest  claim  to 
identity  applies  to  the  substance  called 
by  the  Arabs  mann,  of  which  the  fullest 
account  is  given  by  Burckhardt  (Tour  in 
the  Peninsula  of  Mount  Sinai).  Speak- 
ing of  the  Wady  el  Sheikh,  to  the  north 
of  Mount  Serbal,he  says,  'It  is  the  only 
▼alley  in  the  peninsula  of  Sinai  where 
this  tree  grows,  at  present,  in  any  great 
quantity  ;  though  small  bushes  of  it  are 
here  and  there  met  with  in  other  parts. 
It  is  from  the  tarfa  that  the  manna  is 
obtained.  This  substance  is  called  by 
the  Bedouins  mann,  and  accurately  re- 
sembles the  description  of  manna  given 
in  the  Scriptures.  In  the  month  of  June, 
it  drops  from  the  thorns  of  the  tamarisk 
upon  the  fallen  twigs,  leaves,  and  thorns 
which  always  cover  the  ground  beneath 
that  tree  in  the  natural  state  ;  the  manna 
is  collected  before  sunrise,  when  it  is 
coagulated  ;  but  it  dissolves  as  soon  as 
the  sun  shines  upon  it.  The  Arabs  clean 
away  the  leaves,  dirt,  etc.,  which  ad- 
here to  it,  boil  it,  strain  it  through  a 
coarse  piece  of  cloth,  and  put  it  in 
leathern  skins :  in  this  way  they  pre- 
serve it  till  the  following  year,  and  use 
it  as  they  do  honey,  to  pour  overrun- 
leavened  bread,  or  to  dip  their  bread 
into,  I  could  not  learn  that  they  ever 
made  it  into  cakes  or  loaves.  The  man- 
na is  found  only  in  years  when  copious 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVL 


209 


rams  have  fallen  ;  sometimes  it  is  not 
produced  at  all.  I  saw  none  of  it  among 
the  Arabs,  but  I  obtained  a  small  piece 
of  the  last  year's  produce,  in  the  con- 
vent (of  Mount  Sinai)  where,  having 
been  kept  in  the  cool  shade  and  moder- 
ate temperature  of  that  place,  it  had  be- 
come quite  solid,  and  formed  a  small 
cake  ;  it  became  soft  when  kept  some 
time  in  the  hand ;  if  placed  in  the  sun 
for  five  minutes,  it  dissolved  ;  but  when 
restored  to  a  cool  place,  it  became  solid 
again  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  In  the 
season  at  which  the  Arabs  gather  it,  it 
never  acquires  that  state  of  hardness 
which  will  allow  of  its  being  pounded, 
as  the  Israelites  are  said  to  have  done, 
in  Num.  11.8.  Its  color  is  a  dirty  yel- 
low, and  the  piece  which  I  saw  was  still 
mixed  with  bits  of  tamarisk  leaves  ;  its 
taste  is  agreeable,  somewhat  aromatic, 
and  as  sweet  as  honey.  If  eaten  in  any 
considerable  quantity,  it  is  said  to  be 
slightly  purgative.  The  quantity  of 
manna  collected  at  present,  even  in  sea- 
sons when  the  most  copious  rains  fall, 
is  trifling,  perhaps  not  amounting  to 
more  than  five  or  six  hundred  pounds. 
Il  is  entirely  consumed  among  the  Be- 
douins, who  consider  it  the  greatest 
dainty  which  their  country  affords.  The 
harvest  is  usually  in  June,  and  lasts  for 
about  six  weeks.' — 'The  notion,  how- 
ever, that  any  species  of  vegetable  gum 
is  the  manna  of  the  Scriptures,  appears 
so  totally  irreconcilable  with  the  Mo- 
saic narrative,  that,  notwithstanding  the 
learned  names  which  may  be  cited  in 
support  of  the  conjecture,  it  cannot  be 
safely  admitted  as  any  explanation  of 
the  miracle.  It  is  expressly  said,  that 
the  manna  was  rained  from  heaven  ;  that 
when  the  dew  appeared,  it  also  appear- 
ed lying  on  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
'  a  small,  round  thing,  as  small  as  the 
hoar-frost,'  'like  coriander  seed,  and  its 
color  like  a  pearl  ;'  that  it  fell  but  six 
days  in  the  week,  and  that  a  double 
quantity  fell  on  the  sixth  day;  that 
what  was  gathered  on  the  first  five  days 
18* 


became  oflTensive  and  bred  worms  if 
kept  above  one  day,  while  that  which 
was  gathered  on  the  sixth  day  kept 
sweet  for  two  days ;  that  the  people 
had  never  seen  it  before,  which  could 
not  possibly  be  the  case  with  either 
wild-honey  or  gum-arabic  ;  that  it  was 
a  substance  which  admitted  of  being 
ground  in  a  handmill  or  jjounded  in  a 
mortar,  of  being  made  into  cakes  and 
baked,  and  that  it  tasted  like  wafers 
made  with  honey ;  lastly,  that  it  con- 
tinued falling  for  the  forty  years  that 
the  Israelites  abode  in  the  wilderness, 
but  ceased  on  their  arriving  at  the  bord- 
ers of  Canaan.  To  perpetuate  the  re- 
membrance of  the  miracle,  a  pot  of  the 
manna  was  to  be  laid  up  by  the  side  of 
the  ark,  which  clearly  indicates  the  ex- 
traordinary nature  of  the  production. 
In  no  one  respect  does  it  correspond  to 
the  modern  manna.  The  latter  does  not 
fall  from  heaven,  it  is  not  deposited  with 
the  dew,  but  exudes  from  the  trees  when 
punctured,  and  is  to  be  found  only  in 
the  particular  spots  Avhere  those  trees 
abound  ;  it  could  not,  therefore,  have 
supplied  the  Israelites  with  food  in  the 
more  arid  parts  of  the  desert,  where 
they  most  required  it.  The  gums,  more- 
over, flow  only  for  about  a  month  in  the 
year;  they  neither  admit  of  being  ground, 
pounded,  or  baked  ;  they  do  not  breed 
worms  ;  and  they  are  not  peculiar  to  the 
Arabian  wilderness.  Others  have  sup- 
posed the  manna  to  have  been  a  fat  and 
thick  honey-dew,  and  that  this  was  the 
wild-honey  which  John  the  Baptist  lived 
upon — a  supposition  worthy  of  being 
ranked  with  the  monkish  legend  of  St. 
John's  bread,  or  the  locust-tree,  and 
equally  showing  an  entire  ignorance  of 
the  nature  of  the  country.  It  requires 
the  Israelites  to  have  been  con;>tantly  in 
the  neighborhood  of  trees,  in  the  midst 
of  a  wilderness  often  bare  of  all  vege- 
tation. Whatever  the  manna  was,  it 
was  clearly  a  substitute  for  bread,  and  it 
is  expressly  called  meat,  or  food.  The 
abundant  supply,  the  periodical  suspon- 


210 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


16  If  This  is  the  thing  which  the 
Lord  hath  commanded,  Gather  of 
it  every  man  according  to  his  eat- 
ing: yan  omer  for  every  man  ac- 
cording  to  the  number  of  your  per- 
sons, take  ye  every  man  for  them 
which  are  in  his  tents. 

17  And  the  children  of  Israel  did 

y  ver.  36. 


sion  of  it,  and  the  peculiarity  attaching 
to  the  sixth  day's  supply,  it  must  at  all 
events  be  admitted,  were  preternatural 
facts,  and  facts  not  less  extraordinary 
than  that  the  substance  also  should  be 
of  an  unknown  and  peculiar  description. 
The  credibility  of  the  sacred  narrative 
cannot  receive  the  slightest  addition  of 
evidence  from  any  attempt  to  explain 
the  miracle  by  natural  causes.  That 
narrative  would  lead  any  plain  reader 
to  expect  that  the  manna  should  no 
longer  be  found  to  exist,  having  ceased 
to  fall  upwards  of  3,000  years.  As  to 
the  fact  that  the  Arabs  give  that  name 
to  the  juice  of  the  tarfa,  the  value  of 
their  authority  may  be  estimated  by  the 
pulpit  of  Moses  and  the  footstep  of  Mo- 
hammed's camel.  The  cause  of  Reve- 
lation has  less  to  fear  from  the  assaults 
of  open  infidels,  than  from  such  ill- 
judged  attempts  of  skeptical  philoso- 
phers,  to  square  the  sacred  narrative  b)'^ 
their  notions  of  probability.  The  giv- 
ing of  the  manna  was  either  a  miracle 
or  a  fable.  The  proposed  explanation 
makes  it  a  mixture  of  both.  It  admits 
the  fact  of  a  divine  interposition,  yet 
insinuates  that  Moses  gives  an  incorrect 
or  embellished  account  of  it.  It  requires 
us  to  believe,  that  the  scripture  history 
is  at  once  true  and  a  complete  misre- 
presentation, and  that  the  golden  vase 
of  manna  was  designed  to  perpetuate 
the  simple  fact,  that  the  Israelites  lived 
for  forty  years  upon  gum-arabic  !  The 
miracle,  as  related  by  Moses,  is  surely 
more  credible  tlian  the  explanation.' 
Modern  Traveller. 

16.   According  to  his  eating.     Heb. 


so,  and  gathered,  some  more,  some 
less. 

18  And  when  they  did  mete  it 
with  an  omer,  zhe  that  gathered 
much  had  nothing  over,  and  he  that 
gathered  little  had  no  lack  :  they 
gathered  every  man  according  to 
his  eating. 

z  2  Cor.  8. 15. 


I^SX  "^Sib  lephi  oklo,  according  to  the 
mouth  of  his  eating;  i.  e.  as  much  as 
would  be  sufficient  for  his  daily  con- 
sumption.    See  Note  on  Ex.  12.  4. 

IT  An  omer  for  every  man.  Heb.  ^?25> 
Ti^Oi^^'^omer laggulgoleth,  an  omer  for 
an  head;  the  head  being  put  for  the 
whole  person,  as  in  Ex.  38.  26.  An 
omer  was  about  three  quarts  English 
measure. IF  Accorditig  to  the  num- 
ber of  your  persons.  Heb.  *l!:C?3 
DS'^mZJSi  mispar  naphshothekem,  the 
number  of  your  souls.  See  Note  on 
Gen.  12.  5. 

17.  Gathered  some  more,  some  less. 
Heb.  tJ^JJ^^m  nn^?3n  roj:!'^'^  ytlketu 
hammarbeh  ve-hammamit,  they  gather- 
ed, (both)  he  that  multiplied  and  he  that 
diminished ;  correctly  rendered,  as  to 
the  sense,  in  our  translation,  ^  some 
more,  some  less.'  Paul,  2  Cor.  8. 13 — 15, 
thus  alludes  to  this  circumstance  ;  'For 
I  mean  not  that  other  men  be  eased  and 
ye  burdened.  But  by  an  equality,  that 
now  at  this  time  your  abundance  may 
be  a  supply  for  their  wants,  that  their 
abundance  also  may  be  a  supply  for  your 
wants  ;  that  there  may  be  equality  :  As 
it  is  written,  He  that  hath  gathered 
much  had  nothing  over ;  and  he  that 
had  gathered  little  had  no  lack  ;'  from 
which  it  is  inferred  by  some  that  when 
any  one  had  gathered  more  than  his  due 
share  he  gave  the  overplus  to  those  who 
had  gathered  less.  Others  however  sup- 
pose that  the  whole  quantity  gathered 
by  any  one  family  was  first  put  into  a 
common  mass  and  then  measured  out  to 
the  several  individuals  composing  the 
household. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


211 


19  And  Moses  said,  Let  no  man 
leave  of  it  till  the  morning. 

20  Notwithstanding,  they  heark- 
ened not  unto  Moses  ;  but  some  of 
them  left  of  it  until  the  morning, 
and  it  bred  worms,  and  stank :  and 
Moses  was  wroth  with  them. 

21  And  they  gathered  it  every 
morning,  every  man  according  to 
his  eating :  and  when  the  sun  wax- 
ed hot  it  melted. 

22  H  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  on 
the  sixth  day  they  gathered  twice 


19.  Let  no  man  leave  of  it.  It  is  not 
implied  by  this  that  every  man  was  im- 
periously commanded  to  eat  at  all  events 
every  particle  which  he  gathered  ;  but 
that  if  any  portion  of  it  was  left,  in- 
stead of  being  reserved  for  future  use, 
it  should  be  immediately  thrown  away. 

20.  Itbred  worms.  Heb.Q'iy^in  Q'T'I 
va-yarum  tolaim.,  wormed  worms,  or  bred 
abundantly,  or  crawled  with  worms. 

22.  And  it  came  to  pass,  &c.  If  it  be 
asked  why  this  matter  was  brought  to 
Moses,  we  know  of  no  other  answer 
than  that  the  people  were  taken  by  sur- 
prise at  the  great  quantity  which  they 
found  that  they  had  gathered.  Finding 
upon  measuring  it,  that  upon  the  sixth 
day  they  had  collected  as  much  as  two 
omers  for  a  man,  they  had  recourse  to 
Moses  to  know  what  do  to  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. His  answer  immediately 
follows.  There  is  no  reason  that  their 
surprise  should  surprise  us,  for  although 
this  fact  of  the  fall  of  the  double  quan- 
tity of  manna  had  been  announced  to 
Moses,  V.  5,  it  does  not  appear  that  it  had 
been  previously  declared  to  the  people; 
or  if  the  direction  had  been  given  to 
collect  a  double  quantity  on  the  sixth 
day,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  reason 
of  it  had  been  declared. 

23.  This  is  that  which  the  Lord  hath 
said.  That  is,  this  double  quantity  on 
the  sixth  day  is  according  to  what  the 
Lord  hath  said,  v.  5,  though,  as  before 
remarked,  it  had  been  said  to  Moses, 


as  much  bread,  two  omers  for  one 
ma?i :  and  all  the  rulers  of  the  con- 
gregation came  and  told  Moses. 

23  And  he  said  unto  tiiem,  This 
is  that  which  the  Lord  hath  said, 
To-morrow  is  ^the  rest  of  the  holy 
sabbath  unto  the  Lord:  bake  tliat 
whicli  ye  will  bake  to-day.,  and 
seethe  that  ye  will  seethe ;  and  that 
which  remaineth  over,  lay  up  for 
you  to  be  kept  until  the  morning. 


a  Gen.  2.  3.  ch.  20.  8. 
Lev.  23.  3. 


31.  15.  &  35.  3. 


and  not  to  the  people. IT  Tomorrow 

is  the  rest  of  the  holy  sabbath  unto  the 

Lord.  Heb.  mn"^i)  "^ip  nn'D  "iinn-j 

ITT/2,  shabbathon  shabbath  kodesh  laho- 
vah  mahar,  the  sabbatism,  the  sabbath 
of  holiness  to  the  Lord,  is  to-morrow. 
That  is,  the  season  o{ rest  or  cessation, 
appointed  at  the  creation  to  be  kept 
holy  to  the  Lord,  as  explained  on  Gen. 
2.  3.  But  as  the  Heb.  f^X  shabbath  is 
retained  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  form 
of  the  Gr.  oci,Si'3aTov,  sabbaton,  Mat.  12. 
5,  8,  so  the  apostle  in  Heb.  4.  9,  em- 
ploys the  corresponding  *]inDTr  shab- 
bathon, here  used  in  the  form  of  the  Gr. 
(TaiJffaTi(Tfii)i;  sabbatismos,  which  is  by  in- 
terpretation rest.  Although  the  law 
was  not  yet  given,  yet  it  is  clear  that 
the  sabbath  had  been  previously  ob- 
served. He  does  not  say  'To-morrow 
shall  or  will  be,  but,  to-morrow  is  the 
rest  of  the  holy  sabbath  unto  the  Lord.' 
The  institution  is  recognised  as  one  al- 
ready existing,  but  its  observance  is 
now  in  a  manner  renewed  and  enjoined 
with  more  express  particularity,  per- 
haps from  its  having  fallen  into  much 
neglect  among  the  Israelites.  The  pre- 
sent was  in  fact  a  very  suitable  occasion 
to  remind  them  of  its  obligation ;  for 
they  would  now  have  an  opportunity  to 
notice  the  miraculous  seal  of  regard 
which  God  was  pleased  to  put  upon  it. 

IT  Bake  that  which  ye  will  bake  to 

day,  &c.  That  is,  bake  or  boil  to-day 
whatever  you  wi.sh  to  have  so  dressed 


212 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


24  And  they  laid  it  up  till  the 
morning,  as  Moses  bade :  and  it  did 
not  b  stink,  neither  was  there  any 
worm  therein. 

25  And  Moses  said,  Eat  that  to- 
day ;  for  to-day  is  a  sabbath  unto 
the  Lord  ;  to-day  ye  shall  not  find 
it  in  the  field. 

26  c Six  days  ye  shall  gather  it; 

f'  ver.  20.     c  ch  20.  9,  10. 


for  to-morrow's  provision.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  spirit  of  the  Christian  as  well 
as  of  the  Mosaic  economy  requires  that 
no  work  shall  be  done  on  the  sabbath, 
which  can  as  well  be  done  the  day  before. 
24.  And  they  laid  it  up,  &c.  The 
result  was  now  found  to  be  directly  the 
reverse  of  what  had  been  experienced 
in  a  former  case,  v.  20,  when  a  portion 
of  it  had  been  kept  contrary  to  the  di- 
vine precept.  That  which  was  laid  by 
in  opposition  to  a  command,  putrified 
and  stank,  while  that  which  was  kept 
in  obedience  to  a  command,  remained 
pure  and  sweet. 

26.  In  it  there  shall  he  none.  On  that 
day  it  should  not  fall.  They  were,  there- 
fore not  to  expect  it,  nor  go  out  to 
gather  it.  This  intermission  of' the 
manna  on  the  seventh  day  was  an  irre- 
fragable proof  that  it  was  not  produced 
by  natural  causes  ;  and  it  would  be  a 
striking  attestation  to  the  sanctity  which 
he  had  attached  to  that  day.  It  is 
scarcely  possible  to  avoid  drawing  the 
inference  from  this,  that  the  attempt 
to  procure  for  ourselves  any  advantage 
by  doing  on  the  holy  sabbath  the  appro- 
priate work  of  the  week-time,  will  prove 
abortive.  Every  thing  is  beautiful,  and 
we  may  add,  prosperous,  in  its  season, 
and  only  then. 

27.  And  it  came  to  pass  that  there 
went  out,  &c.  There  were  probably 
some  who  were  disposed  to  put  Moses' 
words  to  the  test,  and  ascertain  from  ex- 
periment whether  his  prediction  would 
hold  good.  They  were  no  doubt  prompt- 
ed by  the  same  motives  as  those  who 


but  on  the  seventh  day,  ichich  is  the 
sabbath,  in  it  there  shall  be  none. 

27  HAnd  it  came  to  pass,  that 
there  went  out  some  of  the  people 
on  the  seventh  day  for  to  gather, 
and  they  found  none. 

28  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
ses, How  long  J  refuse  ye  to  keep 
my  commandments  and  my  laws  ? 

<J  2  Kings  17. 14.    Ps.  78.  10,  22.  &  106.  13. 


would  fain  satisfy  themselves  whether 
the  manna  would  corrupt  by  being  kept 
over  till  the  next  morning,  and  accord- 
ingly laid  by  a  portion  for  that  purpose. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  this  con- 
duct in  both  cases  was  highly  offensive 
to  God,  as  it  showed  a  practical  distrust 
of  his  veracity. 

28.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
&c.  Moses  himself  was  not  disobedi- 
ent, but  he  Avas  the  ruler  of  a  disobedi- 
ent people,  and  God  charges  the  offence 
upon  him  with  the  rest,  that  he  might 
the  more  warmly  charge  it  upon  them. 
The  language  would  naturally  have  the 
effect  to  make  him  feel  himself  invested 
with  a  greater  responsibility  as  to 
watching  over  the  spirit  and  deportment 
of  the  people,  whose  collective  person 

he  sustained  in  his  own. 1\  Let  no 

man  go  out  of  his  place.  That  is,  out 
of  the  camp  of  Israel.  It  is  not  an  ab- 
solute prohibition  of  all  locomotion  on 
the  sabbath,  as  it  was  lawful  to  attend 
their  holy  convocations  and  their  meet- 
ings in  the  s}Tiagogue,  Lev.  23.  3.  Acts, 
1.5.  21.  But  they  were  especially  inter- 
dicted on  that  day  from  going  abroad 
in  order  to  gather  manna.  Tlie  general 
rule  adopted  by  the  Jews  in  regard  to 
travelling  on  the  sabbath  was,  that  the 
distance  to  be  considered  lawful  should 
not  extend  beyond  the  suburbs  of  a 
city,  which  was  ordinarily  the  space  of 
two  thousand  cubits,  or  about  three 
quarters  of  an  English  mile.  Thus 
Mount  Olivet  was  a  sabbath-day's  jour- 
ney from  Jerusalem,  which  is  known  to 
have  been  about  a  mile. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


213 


29  See,  for  that  the  Lord  hath 
given  you  the  sabbath,  therefore 
he  c^iveth  you  on  the  sixth  day  the 
bread  of  two  days :  abide  ye  every 
man  in  his  place,  let  no  man  go 
out  of  his  place  on  the  seventh  day. 

30  So  the  people  rested  on  the 
seventh  day. 

31  And  tlie  house  of  Israel  called 
the  name  thereof  Manna:  and  e  it 
teas  like  coriander-seed,  white ;  and 
the  taste  of  it  was  like  wafers 
made  with  honey. 

32  IT  And  Moses  said.  This  is  the 
thing  which  the  Lord  comraandeth, 


30.  So  the  people  rested  on  the  seventh 
day.  Not  only  on  this  particular  sab- 
bath, after  being  frustrated  in  seeking 
for  manna,  but  also  unifornily  on  the 
seventh  day  during  the  whole  course  of 
their  sojourning.  It  is  a  virtual  inti- 
mation of  the  restored  regular  observ- 
ance and  sanctification  of  the  sabiialh, 
which  had  previously  no  doubt,  during 
the  bondage,  gone  into  desuetude. 

31.  It  was  like  coriander  seed.  It 
resembled  this  seed  in  shape  and  size, 
but  in  color  it  is  expressly  said,  Num. 
11.6,  to  have  resembled  the  bdellium, 
which  from  this  passage  it  is  evident 
was  white-  When  baked  it  is  said, 
Num.  11.  8,  to  have  had  the  taste  of 
*fresh  oil.'  But  in  its  native  state,  when 
first  collected,  its  taste  is  here  inti- 
mated to  have  resembled  that  of  honey- 
wafers. 

32.  Fill  an  omer  of  it  to  be  kept. 
That  the  memory  of  signal  mercies  to 
one  generation  should  be  perpetuated 
for  the  benefit  of  another,  is  doubtless 
the  principle  on  whicli  tliis  precept  is 
foundrd.  By  a  melhcKl  which  was  in 
itself  miraculous,  God  purposed  that 
posterity  should  see  the  bread  on  which 
his  people  were  sustained  for  forty 
years,  and  also  how  mucli  was  allotted 
for  each  man's  portion.  They  would 
then  be  able  to  bear  v.itness  that  their  . 


Fill  an  omer  of  it  to  be  kept  for 
your  generations;  that  they  may 
see  the  bread  wiierewith  1  have 
fed  you  in  the  wilderness,  when  I 
brought  you  forth  from  the  land  of 
Egypt. 

3.3  And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron, 
f  Take  a  pot,  and  put  an  omer  full 
of  manna  therein,  and  lay  it  up  be- 
fore the  Lord,  to  be  kept  for  your 
generations. 

31  As  the  Lord  commanded  Mo- 
ses, so  Aaron  laid  it  up  g  before  the 
Testimony,  to  be  kept. 

niebr-  9.  4.  ?  ch.  25,  16,  21.  &  40.  20. 
Numb.  17.  10.    Deut.   10.  5.     1  Kings  8.  9. 

fathers  were  neither  stinted  to  hard  fare 
nor  to  a  short  allowance,  and  could  thus 
judge  between  God  and  Israel,  whether 
they  had  most  reason  to  murmur  or  be 
grateful. — The  idea  that  the  manna  was 
a  mere  natural  production,  is  amply  re- 
futed by  this  injunction.  For  where  was 
the  necessity  or  propriety  of  preserving 
a  specimen  of  that  wliich  nature  con- 
tinued to  produce  ? 

33.  Take  a  pot,  &c.  The  original 
word,  which  occurs  no  where  else  but 
here,  signifying  simply  a  pot  or  urn.,  is 
rendered  by  the  Sept.  'golden  pot,'  and 
tins  rendering  is  adopted  by  the  apostle, 

lieb.  9.  4. IT  Lay  it  up  before  the 

Lord.  That  is,  before  the  Ark  of  the 
Testimony,  the  symbol  of  the  divine 
presence,  as  is  clearly  evinced  in  the 
ensuing  verse.  This  Ark  was  not  indeed 
yet  constructed,  but  the  history  was 
written  and  i)erhaps  the  command  given 
after  it  uus  made,  and  the  fact  is  in- 
troduced liere  out  of  its  natural  order, 
because  the  sacred  writer  would  now 
conclude  all  that  he  had  to  say  respect- 
ing the  manna. 

34.  Aaron  laid  it  before  the  Testi- 
mony. That  is,  before  the  Ark  of  the 
Testimony,  which  in  this  connexion  is 
evidently  equivalent  to  'before  the  Lord' 
in  the  preceding  verse.  It  is  here  called 
the  'testimony,'  instead  of  the  '  ark  of 


214 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491, 


35  And  the  children  of  Israel  did 
eat  manna  i'  forty  years,  i  until  they 
came  to  a  land  inhabited:  they 
did  eat  manna,  until  they  came  unto 
the  borders  of  the  land  of  Canaan. 

36  Now  an  omer  is  the  tenth  part 
of  an  ephah. 

h  Numb.  33.  38.  Deut.  8.  2,  3.  Neh.  9.  20, 
21.  John  6.31,  49.    'Josh.  5.  12.    Neh.  9.  15. 


the  testimony/  its  usual  appellation, 
by  the  same  kind  of  ellipsis  by  which 
'covenant'  is  used  Gen.  17.  10,  for  the 
*  sign  of  the  covenant.'  See  Note  in. 
loc. 

35.  The  children  of  Israel  did  eat 
manna  forty  years.  Notwithstanding 
all  their  provocations,  which  were  gross 
and  often  repeated,  yet  the  manna,  the 
grand  staple  of  their  subsistence,  never 
failed.  We  know  not  on  the  whole  but 
the  manna  is  fairly  entitled  to  be  con- 
sidered the  greatest  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment miracles.  It  was  not  in  fact  one 
miracle,  but  an  astonishing  combination 
of  many.  It  was  a  regular  supply  of 
food,  a  substitute  for  corn,  during  nearly 
forty  years.  It  fell  around  the  camp  of 
the  Israelites  regularly,  in  all  places 
and  at  all  seasons,  during  all  their  re- 
movals. The  supply,  which  was  regular- 
ly intermitted  once  in  every  week,  was 
compensated  by  a  double  siqiply  the 
preceding  day.  It  became  unfit  for  use 
if  kept  to  the  next  day,  and  yet,  once  a 
week,  it  might  be  kept  for  two  days. 
And  when  the  miracle  was  about  to  be 
discontinued,  as  no  longer  necessary,  a 
pot  full  of  it  was  directed  to  be  laid 
aside,  and  preserved  as  a  memorial  to 
future  generations.  All  these  marvel- 
lous circumstances  are  not  mere  ab- 
stract qualities  of  the  manna,  but  his- 
torical facts —  facts  inseparably  inter- 
woven with  the  history  of  the  chosen 
people.  It  is  surely  then  an  attempt  of 
no  common  hardihood,  though  it  has 
been  made,  to  endeavor  to  bring  this 
sublime  set  of  miracles  within  the  limit 
of  a  natural  probability.  But,  in  truth, 
every  effort  made  to  explain  away  the 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
A  ND  a  all  the  congrei^ation  of 
-^  the  children  of  Israel  journey- 
ed from  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  af- 
ter their  journeys,  according- to  the 
commandment  of  the  Lord,  and 
pitched   in   Rephidim :  and  there 

ach.  16.  1.     Numb.  33.  12,  14. 


miracle  as  related  by  Moses,  actually 
requires  one  as  great,  or  greater,  to  fill 
its  place,  and  we  are  therefore  content 
to  take  the  matter  as  we  find  it  in  the 
scriptural  narrative. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

1.  And  all  the  congregation — jour- 
neyed— and  pitched  in  Rephidim.  From 
the  station  in  the  wilderness  of  Sin, 
where  the  manna  began  to  fall,  the 
Israelites  continued  their  journey  over 
a  sandy  and  stony  region,  intersected 
by  the  beds  of  numerous  torrents,  which 
are  perfectly  dry  except  in  the  seasons 
of  rain,  when  some  of  them  are  filled 
with  water  to  the  depth  of  ten  or  twelve 
feet.  Except  at  that  season  water  is 
scarce  ■  and  by  the  usual  and  nearest 
route,  which  is  generally  supposed  to 
be  that  taken  by  the  Israelites,  water 
occurs  only  at  two  places  before  reach- 
ing Wady  Feiran.  Upon  comparing  the 
present  narrative  with  the  fuller  details 
given  Num.  33,  we  find  that  two  sta- 
tions, viz.  Dophkah  and  Alush,  are  en- 
tirely omitted  here,  which  are  men- 
tioned there  as  resting-places  between 
the  desert  of  Sin  and  Rephidim.  The 
first  of  these  is  probably  the  Wady 
Naszeb,  still  a  favorite  station  for  trav. 
ellers  on  account  of  the  combined  ad- 
vantages of  a  well  of  good  water  and 
the  shelter  of  a  large  impending  rock. 
'Shady  spots  like  this,'  says  Burck- 
hardt,  'are  well  known  to  the  Arabs  ; 
and  as  the  scanty  foliage  of  the  acacia, 
the  only  tree  in  which  these  valleys 
abound,  affords  no  shade,  they  take  ad- 
vantage of  such  rocks,  and  regulate 
their  journey  in  such  a  way  as  to  be 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


215 


teas  no  water  for  the  people  to 
drink. 

^  ^  Wherefore  the  people  did  chide 
with  Moses,  and  said,  Give  us  wa- 

"  Numb.  20.  3,  4. 

able  to  reach  them  at  noon,  there  to 
lake  their  siesta' — a  circumstance  which 
reminds  one  of  the  satisfaction  witli 
which  '  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a 
wear  J'  land'  is  mentioned  by  the  prophet, 
Is.  32.  2.  The  other  station  may  liave 
been  at  Wady  Boodra,  where  there  is  a 
.spring  of  good  water,  though  from  its 
being  somewhat  aside  from  the  com- 
mon road,  and  often  choked  with  sand, 
it  has  escaped  the  notice  of  most  travel- 
lers. The  next  rest  of  the  host  was  at 
Rephidim,  where  no  water  could  be 
found.  The  determination  of  this  sta- 
tion is  important  from  its  bearing  upon 
an  alleged  locality  of  modern  times, 
which  is  said  to  contain  the  identical 
rock  smitten  by  Moses  for  the  supply 
of  water  to  the  Israelites.  There  is, 
we  think,  the  greatest  reason  to  ques- 
tion the  truth  of  this  tradition,  though 
very  ancient ;  but  to  go  fully  into  the 
argument  would  require  a  more  extend- 
ed detail  of  particulars  relative  to  the 
topography  of  the  entire  Sinai  region, 
than  our  limits  will  allow.  We  must 
therefore  content  ourselves  with  refer- 
ring the  reader  to  tlie  able  discussions 
of  the  Pictorial  Bible  on  the  subject. 
He  will  there  find  abundant  reason  to 
believe  that  the  tradition  which  makes 
the  rock  of  Rephidim  to  be  among  the 
higher  summits  of  Sinai,  and  at  the  very 
foot  of  Mount  St.  Catlierine,  where  there 
is  plenty  of  water,  to  be  altogether  er- 
roneous.  IT  According  to  the  com- 
mandment of  the  Lord.  Heb.  ^D  ^5> 
nirr^  al  pi  Yelwvah,  at  the  mouth  of 
Jehovah.  They  are  said  to  have  jour- 
neyed at  the  'mouth'  or  'commandment' 
of  the  Lord,  because  they  folio w'ed  the 
direction  of  the  cloudy  jallar,  pausing 
when  it  paused,  and  moving  when  it 


ter  that  we  may  drink.  And  Mo- 
ses said  unto  them,  Wliy  chide  ye 
with  nie  i  wherefore  do  ye  ^  leuipt 
the  Lord? 


cDeut.  6. 
Matt.  4.  7. 


16.     Ps.  78.  IS,  41. 
1  Cor.  10.  9. 


moved.  That  this  is  to  be  understood 
by  the  phrase  *  commandment  of  the 
Lord,'  is  evident  from  Num.  9.  18,  19. 
'At  the  commandment  of  the  Lord  (^5 
nin"'  "•£)  the  children  of  Israel  jour- 
neyed, and  at  the  commandment  of  the 
Lord  they  pitched  :  as  long  as  the  cloud 
abode  upon  tlie  tabernacle  they  rested 
in  their  tents.  And  when  the  cloud  tar- 
ried along  upon  the  tabernacle  many 
days,  then  the  children  of  Israel  kept 
the  charge  of  the  Lord,  and  journeyed 
not.  And  so  it  was,  when  the  cloud 
was  a  few  days  upon  the  tabernacle ; 
according  to  the  commandment  of  the 
Lord  they  abode  in  their  tents,  and  ac- 
cording t3  the  commandment  of  the  Lord 
they  journeyed.'  Thougli  journeying  by 
the  commandment,  or  under  the  express 
guidance  of  the  Lord,  yet  they  are  con- 
ducted to  a  scene  of  extreme  trial  and 
distress  ;  showing  that  the  mere  fact  of 
our  being  in  the  way  of  our  duty  is  no 
certain  security  against  the  occurrence 
of  trouble,  (iod  may  have  wise  though 
inscrutable  reasons  for  bringing  his 
pilgrims  from  Sin  to  Rephidim,  from 
hunger  to  thirst. 

2.  The  people  did  chide  with  Moses. 
Heb.  DT'I  va-yareb,  from  the  root  DTn 
rub  wliich  signifies  to  strive,  contend, 
litigate,  usually  by  reproachful  words, 
though  sometimes  by  deeds,  as  Gen.  49. 
23.  Ex.  21.18.  1  Sam.  16.  5.  In  this 
case  the  impatience  and  irritation  of 
their  spirits  vented  itself  in  violent  re- 
proaches against  Moses,  and  they  chal- 
lenge him  to  supply  them  with  water, 
as  if  he  had  the  command  of  springs  and 
rivers  and  could  summon  lliem  up  at 
will,  and  produce  ctFects  in  the  desert  to 
wliich  Oinnii)nience  alone  is  equal.  As 
on  a  fpriTier  occpision,  they  now  also  mur- 


216 


EXODUS 


[B.  C.  1491. 


3  And  the  people  thirsted  there 
for  water ;  and  the  people  'i  mur- 
mured against  Moses,  and  said, 
Wherefore  is  this  that  thou  hast 
brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt  to  kill 


J  ch.  16.  2. 


mured  against  him  for  bringing  them 
out  of  Egypt,  as  if,  instead  of  deUver- 
ing,  he  designed  to  slay  them,  their 
children,  and  cattle  with  thirst.  Their 
rage  and  maUce  at  length  rose  to  such 
a  pitch,  that  they  were  '  almost  ready 
to  stone  him ;'  and  yet  we  are  to  re- 
member that  they  had  been,  a  very  short 
time  before,  supphed  with  food  directly 
from  the  hand  of  God  himself;  they 
were  feeding  upon  that  food  every  day  j 
and  they  were  daily  led  by  the  mira- 
culous pillar  of  cloud,  which  was  a  sen- 
sible token  that  the  responsibility  of 
their  route  rested  not  upon  Moses,  but 
upon  God.  Into  such  gross  absurdities, 
as  well  as  flagrant  wrongs,  do  the 
fierce  demands  of  appetite  hurry  sinful 
men,  prompting  them  to  act  like  mad- 
men, casting  about  fire  brands,  arrows, 
and  death,  among  their  best  friends. 
*  Though  he  had  commanded  the  clouds 
from  above,  and  opened  the  doors  of 
heaven,  and  had  rained  down  manna 
upon  them  to  eat,  and  had  given  them 
of  the  corn  of  heaven.  For  all  this 
they  sinned  still,  and  believed  not  for 
his  wondrous  works.'  Yet  in  this  com- 
plaining and  murmuring  multitude  we 
see  but  an  epitome  of  the  race.  Their 
conduct  is  but  too  faithful  a  picture  of 
what  large  bodies  of  men  are  continu- 
ally disposed  to  do,  even  to  quarrel  the 
most  with  those  from  wliom  they  have 
received  the  greatest  benefits,  and  to  be 
ready  to  seek  their  death,  as  soon  as 
they  meet  with  the  least  disappoint- 
ments of  their  desires.  Thus  it  was  in 
after  ages  with  the  divine  Benefactor  of 
the  world.  '  Many  good  works  have 
I  showed   you  from  my  Father  j  for 


us  and  our  children  and  our  cattle 

with  thirst, 
4  And   Moses   e  cried   unto   the 
Lord  saying,  What  shall  1  do  unto 
this  people  i  they  be  almost  ready 
to  f  stone  me. 

e  ch.  14.  15.    f  1  Sam.  30.  6.     Jolin  8.  59.  & 
10.  31. 


which  of  these  works  do  ye  stone  me?' 

IT  And  Moses  said  unto  them,  &c. 

Under  these  trying  circumstances,  Mo- 
ses retains  his  characteristic  calmness. 
He  indeed  reproves  them  ;  he  shows 
them  upon  whom  their  murmurings  re- 
flected ;  but  he  does  not  denounce  them  ; 
he  does  not  meet  rage  with  rage  ;  but 
simply  expostulates  with  them  upon  the 
unreasonableness  of  chiding  with  him 
for  a  privation  which  he  had  no  hand  in 

producing. IT  Wherefore  do  ye  tempt 

the  Lord  ?  Why  do  ye  tempt  the  Lord 
by  distrusting  his  prj»vidential  care  and 
kindness,  and  by  murmuring  against  his 
ministers?  Why  do  ye  act  as  if  ye 
would  try  him,  and  see  whether  he  will 
be  provoked  to  come  out  in  some  severe 
judgment  against  you  ? 

3.  To  kilt  us  and  our  children.  Heb. 
'^^n  njil  ^nii  n^>3ni)  lehamith  othi 
ve-eth  banai,  to  kill  me  and  my  sons ; 
spoken  of  as  one  man.  'To  kill'  here  is 
properly  '  to  make  to  die,'  that  is,  to 
suffer  to  die ;  to  bring  into  circum- 
stances which  would  expose  to  death. 

4.  And  Moses  cried  unto  the  Lord, 
saying,  &c.  The  present  was  an  emer- 
gency on  which  Moses  might  very  prop- 
erly adopt  the  Psalmist's  motto,  'What 
time  I  am  afraid  I  will  trust  in  thee.' 
The  torments  of  extreme  thirst  tend  very 
much  to  work  men  up  to  desperation, 
and  render  their  passions  fierce  and  un- 
governable. We  cannot  doubt  that  Mo- 
ses was  now  in  real  peril  of  his  life.  But 
he  had  before  this  learned  where  his 
true  refuge  lay,  and  to  that  he  betakes 
himself.  He  pours  out  his  complaint  to 
God  as  to  a  friend,  a  father,  a  guardian, 
a  guide.    He  begs  of  him  to  direct  him 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


6l7 


5  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
g  G-o  on  before  the  people,  and  take 
with  thee  of  the  elders  of  Israel  : 
and  thy  rod,  wherewith  '»  thou 
sniotest  the  river,  take  in  thine 
hand,  and  go. 

S  Ezek.  2.  6.    h  ch.  7.  20.     Numb.  20.  8. 

how  to  act  in  this  emergency,  for  he  is 
himself  utterly  at  a  loss.  This  is  the 
true  import  of  his  words,  'What  shall  I 
do  unto  this  people?'  They  imply  no- 
tlimg  vindictive ;  tliey  are  not  a  ques- 
tion touching  the  manner  in  which  he 
should  most  etfectually  punish  them, 
but  simply  regard  the  proper  deport- 
ment for  him  to  observe  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. How  unspeakable  the  com- 
fort of  having  such  a  sanctuary  and  such 
an  oracle  to  flee  to  when  our  motives  are 
suspected,  our  good,  evil  spoken  of,  our 
conduct  reviled,  and  our  patience  tri- 
ed !  How  favored  is  he  whom  the  Lord 
hides  in  his  pavilion  from  the  strife  of 
tongues .' 

5.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  &c. 
However  much  we  have  trembled  for 
Moses  in  this  extremity,  we  are  prompt- 
ed, on  reading  this  verse,  to  tremble  still 
more  for  those  murmuring,  unbelieving, 
rebellious  Israelites.  We  hear  tlie  voice 
of  God  commanding  his  servant  to  take 
the  ominous  rod  with  which  he  had 
bruised  and  broken  Egypt,  and  we  an- 
ticipate that  it  is  now  to  be  an  instru- 
ment of  inflicting  some  fearful  chas- 
tisement upon  his  guilty  people.  We 
can  scarce  repress  an  inward  shudder 
in  anticipation  of  the  sequel.  But  how 
speedily  are  our  apprehensions  calmed  ? 
The  rod  is  to  be  assumed  for  a  purpose 
of  mercy  and  not  of  wrath.  It  is  to 
smite,  not  a  sinful  people,  but  a  flinty 
rock.  It  is  to  draw  forth,  not  a  stream 
of  blood  from  the  heart  of  the  oflendcr, 
but  a  stream  of  water  to  cool  his  tongue, 
and  to  restore  his  fainting  frame.  How 
involuntary  the  exclamation,  '  Surely,  I 
O  Lord,  thy  ways  are  not  as  our  ways, 
nor  thy  thoughts  as  our  thouglits  ." I 

VoT..  I  19 


6  » Behold,  I  will  stand  hefore 
thee  there  upon  the  rock  in  Horeb  ; 
and  thou  shait  smite  the  rock,  and 
there  shall  come  water  out  of  it, 
that  the  people  may  drink.     And 

1  Numb.  20.  10,  II.  Ps.  TS.  15,  20.  &  105.  4L 
<fcll4.  8.     ICor.  10.  4. 


IT  Go  on  before  the  people.  Go  even  in 
the  midst  of  their  rage,  and  before  their 
thirst  is  relieved  ;  fear  not  to  advance 
boldly  at  the  head  of  the  host,  and  trust 

to  my  arm  for  protection. IT  Take 

with  thee  of  the  elders.  As  if  the  mass 
of  the  peoj)le  had  rendered  themselves 
unworthy  of  being  tlie  spectators  of  such 

a  glorious  miracle. IT  And  thy  rod, 

U'hcrexcith  thou  smotest  the  river.  He 
does  not  say, '  the  rod  which  was  turned 
into  a  serpent,'  or  '  the  lod  with  which 
thou  didst  work  wonders,'  but  he  makes 
special  mention  of  the  miracle  wrought 
upon  the  waters  of  the  Nile,  because  a 
somew'ial  similar  one  was  now  to  be 
effected. 

6.  Behold,  I  will  stand  hefore  thee 
there.  That  is,  the  cloudy  pillar,  the 
symbol  of  my  presence,  shall  stand  be- 
fore thee  there.  Gr.  'I  stand  there  be- 
fore thou  come  to  the  rock.'  It  is  im- 
plied that  the  cloud  sliould  go  before, 
and  stationing  itself  on  the  spot  where 
the  miracle  was  to  be  performed  should 
await  the  arrival  of  Moses  and  the  eld- 
ers, just  as  the  star  pointed  out  the  birth 

place  of  Christ. IT  Upon  the  rock  in 

Horeb.  The  arguments  adduced  above 
in  relation  to  the  true  site  of  Rephidim, 
require  that  we  should  understand  by 
'Horeb'  not  so  much  a  particular  moun- 
tain as  a  mountainous  district  of  con- 
siderable extent  in  which  the  Sinai  group 

was  situated. If  Moses  did  so  in  the 

sight  of  the  ciders  of  Israel.  The  elders 
liiereforc  were  the  only  eye-witnesses 
of  the  miracle  of  the  smiting  of  the 
rock,  whicli  was  performed  in  a  retired 
placo,  poiiiti^d  out  by  the  station  of  the 
cloud,  whence  the  waters  flowed  in  co- 
pious streams  to  the  camp.    The  elders 


218 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


Moses  did  so  in  the  si^ht  of  the 
elders  of  Israel. 

7  And  he  called  the  name  of  the 
place  k  Massah,  and  Meribah,  be- 
cause of  the  chidins:  of  the  children 


k  Numb.  20. 13.     Ps 
3.8. 


&  95.  8.    Hebr. 


would  be  able  satisfactorily  to  testify 
that  there  was  previously  no  spring  or 
reservoir  of  water  in  the  place,  and  that 
the  present  supply  was  produced  solely 
by  the  mighty  power  of  God.  In  regard 
to  the  apostle's  allusion  to  this  incident, 
1  Cor.  10.  1 — 3,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
Mr.  Barnes'  Note  on  that  passage. 

7.  He  called  the  name  of  the  place 
Massah  and  Meribah.  'Massah'  signi- 
fies temptation,  and  'Meribah'  chiding, 
or  strife.  The  latter  word  is  rendered 
in  the  Greek  version  by  napariKpaafios, 
bitter  contention,  which  in  the  English 
translation,  Heb.  3. 8,  is  rendered  'pro- 
vocation}' 'Harden  not  your  hearts  as 
in  the  provocation,  in  the  day  of  tempta- 
tion in  the  wilderness.' M    Saying, 

Is  the  Lord  among  us  or  not  ?  It  is  not 
perhaps  to  be  understood  that  they  ut- 
tered with  their  lips  these  precise  words, 
but  such  was  the  language  of  their  con- 
duct. In  like  manner  when  our  Savior 
says.  Mat.  12.  37,  'By  thy  words  thou 
shalt  be  justified,  and  by  thy  words  thou 
shalt  be  condemned,'  his  meaning  is, 
that  they  shall  be  judged  by  actions 
which  have  the  force  of  language  ;  ac- 
tions which  express  the  truth  as  clearly 
as  words  could  do  it.  Temptation  of 
God  and  contention  with  his  servants, 
are  very  closely  connected  together ; 
and  no  provocation  does  God  more  high- 
ly resent,  tlian  to  have  his  gracious  pres- 
ence with  his  people  called  in  question. 

8.  Then  came  Amalek,  and  fought 
with  Israel;  implying  that  they  came 
from  some  distance  for  this  purpose, 
and  consequently  that  Israel  was  not  at 
this  time  encroaching  upon  their  terri- 
tories, and  thus  giving  occasion  for  the 
attack.    Hitherto  nothing  has  been  said 


of  Israel,  and  because  they  tempt- 
ed the  Lord,  saying,  Is  the  Lord 
among  us,  or  not  ? 

8   ^  1  Then   came   Amalek,   and 
fought  with  Israel  in  Rcphidim. 

1  Gen.  36.  12.  Numb.  24.  20.  Deut.  25.  17. 
1  Sam.  15.  2. 


of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Sinai  penin- 
sula ;  no  clew  accordingly  has  been  fur- 
nished that  might  inform  us  how  they 
were  affected  by  the  recent  transactions^ 
or  with  what  feelings  they  regarded  the 
advance  of  the  vast  Hebrew  host  into 
the  finest  part  of  the  country.  We  now 
hear  of  them.  It  appears  that  not  only 
the  peninsula,  but  the  adjoining  deserts 
towards  the  south  of  Palestine,  were 
occupied  by  an  extensive  and  powerful 
tribe,  of  Bedouin  habits,  called  Amalek- 
ites.  The  fine  valley  of  Feiran  was 
then  doubtless,  as  now,  the  principal 
seat  of  those  who  occupied  the  penin- 
sula ;  and  indeed  the  Arabic  historians 
preserve  the  tradition  that  the  valley 
contained  ancient  towns  and  settlements 
of  the  Amalekites.  There  are  some 
ruins  of  an  old  city  which  they  say  was 
Faran  or  Paran,  and  that  it  was  found- 
ed by  and  belonged  to  the  Amalekites  ; 
and  they  affirm  that  the  numerous  exca- 
vations in  the  mountains  near,  were  the 
sepulchres  of  that  people.  (Makrizi  in 
Burckhardt,  p.  617.)  Feiran,  the  name 
of  this  valley  is  unaoubtedly  the  same 
as  the  Paran  of  tlie  Scriptures,  which 
we  know  is  expressly  applied  to  Mount 
Sinai,  Deut.  33.  2.  These  Amalekites 
were  the  posterity  o:^^au,  and  were  no 
doubt  prompted  in  Ipas  assault  by  the 
hereditary  hatred,  of  tMt  race  which 
had  become  possessed  of  the  birth-right 
and  the  blessing  Iqt^t,  by  their  father. 
Their  malice,  whicU^ihay  be  said  to  have 
run  in  the  blood,  was  probably  somev/hat 
exasperated  at  this  time  by  seeing  the 
promises  to  IsradT  working  towards  an 
accomplishment.  And  they  may  have 
been  aware,  moreover,  of  the  wealth, 
the  spoils  of  Egypt,  with  which  the 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


219 


D  And  Moses  said  unto  »«  Joshua, 
Choose  us  out  men,  and  go  out, 
ti^ht  with  Amalek :  to-morrow  I 
will  stand  on  the  top  of  the  hill 
with  n  the  rod  of  God  in  my  hand, 

10  So  Joshua  did  as  Moses  had 


m  Called  Jesus 
n  ch.  4.  20. 


45.     Hebr.  4.  8. 


Hebrews  were  now  laden.  But  how- 
ever this  was,  certain  it  is  that  we  ftud 
not  the  shghtest  hint  of  any  provocation 
given  by  the  Israelites  for  the  attack 
now  wantonly  made  upon  them,  which 
it  appears  from  Deut.  25,  IS,  was  not 
conducted  in  a  style  of  open  and  manly 
warfare,  but  in  a  mean  and  cowardly 
manner,  by  falling  upon  their  rear,  and 
smiting  tlie  faint  and  feeble  who  could 
neither  make  resistance,  nor  escape ; 
^Remember  what  Annalek  did  unto  thee 
by  the  way,  when  ye  were  come  fortli 
out  of  Egypt;  how  he  met  thee  by  the 
way,  and  smote  the  hindmost  of  thee, 
even  all  that  were  feeble  behind  thee, 
when  thou  wast  faint  and  weary:  and 
he  feared  not  God.'  The  last  clause  is 
emphatically  added,  because  such  an  in- 
vasion of  the  chosen  people  under  these 
circumstances  was  a  virtual  defiance  to 
that  power  which  had  so  lately  destroy- 
ed the  Egyptians.  This  fact  explains 
the  deep  resentment  which  God  himself 
expresses  on  the  occasion,  and  which, 
by  a  positive  statute,  he  transmits  to 
Israel.  'Therefore  it  shall  be,  when  the 
Lord  thy  God  hath  given  thee  rest  from 
all  tliine  enemies  round  about,  in  the 
land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  givetli 
thee  for  an  inheritance  to  possess  it, 
that  thou  shalt  blot  out  the  remem- 
brance of  Amalek  from  under  heaven  ; 
thou  shalt  not  forget  it.'  Tlie  same  of- 
fence is  accounted  more  or  less  heinous 
in  the  eyes  of  heaven  according  to  the 
greater  or  less  degrees  of  light  against 
which  it  is  committed. 

9.  And  Moses  said  unto  Joshua. 
Heb.yjin"*  y<'/io*/iua,  properly  Savior, 
from  the  root  ^'r""  yasha,  to  save.     Gr. 


said  to  him,  and  fought  with  Ama- 
lek ;  and  Moses,  Aaron,  and  liur, 
went  up  to  the  lop  of  the  hill. 

1 1  And  it  cauic  to  pass,  when  Mo- 
ses «  held  up  his  hand,  that  Israel 
prevailed:  and  when  he  let  down 
his  hand,  Amalek  prevailed. 

o  .lain.  5.  10. 

I/jrrars,  Jesus,  by  whicli  name  Joshua  is 
twice  called  in  the  New  Testament,  viz. 
Acts,  7.  45.  Heb.  4.  8.  In  Num.  13.  9, 
he  is  called  ^Oshea.'  The  name  of  this 
distinguished  personage  in  the  sacred 
story  here  occurs  for  the  first  time,  but 
his  courage  and  discretion  had  before  this 
become  known  to  Moses,  and  he  does 
not  hesitate,  under  divine  suggestion, 
to  confide  to  him  the  conduct  of  this 
first  military  action.  Whetiier  Moses 
in  this  had  an  eye  to  his  future  station, 
and  designed  to  afford  him  an  oppor- 
tunity for  that  preliminary  training 
which  his  destined  services  would  re- 
quire, we  know  not  ;  but  we  may  safe- 
ly say  that  God  had  such  an  end  in 
view,  and  accordingly  now  entered  him 
upon  that  course  of  action  which  should 
best  qualify  him  for  the  arduous  duties 
of  his  subsequent  leadership  of  Israel. 
He  was  now  ordered  to  draw  out  a  de- 
tachniCTit  of  the  choicest  spirits  from 
the  many  thousands  of  Israel,  and  with 
them  to  give  battle  on  tlie  morrow  to 

the  Amalekitcs. VAnd  Moses,  Aaron, 

and  Hur  went  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill. 
Of  the  Hur  here  mentioned  we  only  know 
from  1  Chron.  2.  IS,  that  lie  was  the  son 
of  Caleb,  tlie  son  of  Hezron,  the  son  of 
Pharez,  the  son  of  Judah.  liut  whether 
this  Caleb  was  the  same  with  the  faith- 
ful sp)'  of  that  name,  is  more  than  can 
be  positively  determined.  These  then 
went  to  the  summit  of  the  hill,  but  for 
a  different  ])urpose  tlian  merely  that  of 
being  idle  spectators  of  the  coming  con- 
test, as  appears  from  the  next  verse. 

W.  It  came  to  pass,  when  Moses  held 
up  his  hand,  &c.  It  is  not  here  express- 
ly affirmed  that  Moses  held  any  thii^ 


220 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


in  his  hand,  but  as  il  is  clear  from  v.  9, 
tliat  he  took  'the  rod  of  God'  with  him, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  was  to 
be  held  up  as  a  kind  of  banner  or  signal 
to  be  seen  by  the  warring  host  below, 
and  to  operate  as  a  continual  incentive 
to  their  valor  and  prowess,  while  en- 
gaged in  the  contest.  The  sight  of  that 
wonder-working  wand,  which  had  al- 
ready wrought  such  glorious  things  for 
tliem,  which  had  summoned  thei)lagues 
of  Egypt,  which  had  opened  a  path 
through  the  trackless  waters,  and  which 
had  so  recently  smitten  the  rock  for 
their  refreshment,  could  not  fail  to  nerve 
their  arms  with  new  vigor  every  time 
their  eye  was  turned  towards  it.  Yet 
a  moment's  reflection  would  convince 
them,  as  it  will  us,  that  there  was  no 
intrinsic  virtue  in  the  rod  to  produce 
this  effect;  that  it  derived  all  its  efficacy 
from  the  divine  appointment,  from  its 
being  a  visible  symbol  of  that  unseen 
succor  and  strength  which  God  w^as 
pleased  to  minister  to  his  militant  serv- 
ants fighting  his  own  battle  and  main- 
taining his  glory.  But  it  was  evident- 
ly proper  that,  in  order  to  secure  the 
divine  cooperation  on  such  an  occa- 
sion, fervent  prayer  should  be  united 
wdlh  external  appliances ;  and  accord- 
ingly we  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  uplifted  rod  was  merely  an 
accompaniment  of  the  earnest  interces- 
sions which  breathed  from  the  lips  and 
hearts  of  the  venerable  trio  convened 
on  the  summit  of  the  hill.  Such  also 
is  the  view  taken  of  the  incident  by 
the  Chal.  and  Jerus.  Targums  ;  '  When 
Moses  held  up  his  hands  in  prayer,  the 
house  of  Israel  prevailed  ;  and  when  he 
let  down  his  hands  from  prayer,  the 
liouse  of  Anielek  prevailed.'  We  have 
here  then  grouped  together  that  hal- 
lowed combination  of  agencies  which 
ought  never  to  be  separated,  and  in 
which  safety  and  success  are  ever  to  be 
found ;  viz.  the  acknowledgment  of 
heaven  and  the  use  of  appointed  means. 
The  rod  in  the  hand  of  Moses,  and  the 


sword  in  that  of  Joshua  ;  the  embattled 
host  in  the  valley  below,  and  the  pray- 
ing band  on  the  mount,  above,  all  were 
necessary  in  the  divine  economy  to  the 
grand  result.  In  vain  liad  Moses  prayed 
if  Joshua  had  not  fought  ;  in  vain  h^d 
Joshua  fought  if  Moses  had  not  prayed. 
The  whole  narrative,  however,  conclu- 
sively shows,  that  God  designed  to  teach 
Israel  that  the  liand  of  Moses,  Avith 
whom  they  had  just  been  chiding,  con- 
tributed more  to  their  safety  than  their 
own  hands;  his  rod  more  than  their 
weapons;  and  accordingly  the  success 
fluctuates  as  he  lifts  up  or  lets  down  his 
hands.  What  can  more  strikingly  illus- 
trate the  principle,  that  the  triumphs  of 
the  church  depend  upon  the  prayers  of 
its  friends?  Accordingly  as  they  are 
more  or  less  strong  in  faith  and  fervent 
in  supplication,  Llie  victory  wavers  to 
their  side  or  that  of  their  enemies.  And 
the  same  holds  true  of  the  individual. 
The  lesson  here  intended  to  be  taught 
is  *  that  men  ought  always  to  pray  and 
not  to  faint ;'  it  is,  '  that  men  should 
pray  every  where,  lifting  up  holy  hands 
without  wrath  or  doubting.'  The  Chris- 
tian w^arfare  will  be  attended  with  but 
little  success,  unless  it  be  waged  in  the 
spirit  and  practice  of  unceasing,  earnest 
prayer.  And  in  this  struggle  let  us  be 
cheered  by  the  consideration  that  we 
do  not  engage  in  this  holy  war  unassist- 
ed and  alone.  The  faithful  servants  of 
God,  our  brethren,  have  ascended  the 
hill  of  spiritual  prayer,  and  are  implor- 
ing blessings  upon  our  efforts.  And 
not  only  so  ;  he  who  marshals  the  ranks 
of  the  sacramental  host,  who  leads 
them  on  to  battle,  and  fights  in  their 
behalf,  sustains  another  office  equally 
important.  He  has  gone  up  to  the  sum- 
mit of  the  everlasting  hills,  and  is  there 
employed  in  prevalent  intercessions  for 
their  success.  A  greater  than  Moses 
is  mediating  for  them  on  the  mount 
above,  and  his  hands  never  grow  heavy 
and  weary,  and  faint.  Of  him  it  can 
never  be  said,  that  though  the  spirit  is 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


221 


12  But  Moses'  hands  were  heavy  ; 
and  they  took  a  stone,  and  put  tt 
under  him,  and  he  sat  thereon : 
and  Aaron  and  Hiir  stayed  up  his 
hands,  the  one  on  the  one  side,  and 
the  other  on  the  other  side  ;  and 
his  hands  were  steady  until  the 
going  down  of  the  sun. 

13  And  Joshua  discomfited  Araa- 


willing,  the  flesh  is  weak.  '  He  ever 
liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us'  — 
Hveth  in  the  spiritual  undecaying  vital- 
ity of  his  love,  and  the  vigor  of  his  ad- 
vocacy for  his  people. 

12.  Moses^  hands  were  heavy.  That 
is,  felt  heavy  to  him,  were  wearied  by 
being  kept  so  long  in  the  same  uplifted 
posture.  The  infirmity  of  nature  pre- 
vailed over  the  promptings  of  piety. 
In  this  emergency  recourse  is  had  to 
artificial  supports.  A  stone  is  put  un- 
der him  for  a  seat,  and  Aaron  and  Hur 
become  living  stays  for  his  arms.  In 
performing  this  office,  however,  we  do 
not  suppose  that  both  his  hands  were 
held  up  on  either  side  at  the  same  time; 
for  in  this  case  we  cannot  see  but  the 
arms  of  Aaron  and  Hur  would  eventually 
become  as  weary,  and  as  much  need 
support  as  those  of  Moses.  The  main 
object  of  holding  up  his  arms  was  that 
the  rod  might  be  held  up.  This  he  no 
doubt  shifted  from  time  to  time  from 
one  hand  to  the  other,  and  Aaron  and 
Hur  each  of  them  successively  aided  in 
holding  that  hand  which  was  next  to 
them,  and  thus  relieved  both  him  and 
each  other.  In  our  native  feebleness 
and  proneness  to  languish  under  the 
pressure  of  spiritual  duties,  recourse 
may  be  innocently  had  to  adventitious 
aids  in  keeping  alive  the  spirit  of  devo- 
tion.  IT  Were  steady  until  the  going 

down  of  the  sun.  Heb.  roi)25<  amu- 
nah,  steadiness.  Even  though  thus  sup- 
ported, yet  so  long  a  continuance  in  one 
fixed  posture  must  have  been  a  severe 
trial  lo  his  patience,  and  it  impressively 
shows  us  to  wliat  a  test  our  pious  perse- 
19* 


lek  and  his  people  with  the  edge 
of  tlie  sword. 

14  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
ses, p  Write  this  /or  a  memorial  in 
a  book,  and  rehearse  it  in  the  ears 
of  Joshua  :  for  q  I  will  utterly  put 

Prh. 34.27.  qNumb.21.20.  Deut.  25.  19. 
1  i^am.  15.  3,  7.  &  30.  1,  17.  2  Sam.  6.  12. 
Ezra  9.  14. 

verance  may  sometimes  be  brought. 
Of  the  occasions  our  consciences  must 
judge,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
circumstances  do  sometimes  occur  in 
Christian  experience  that  call  upon  us 
for  services  equally  trying  to  the  flesh ; 
occasions  when  we  should  be  unfaithful 
to  cur  own  souls  did  we  not  hold  out  in 
prayer  and  inward  groanings  far  beyond 
the  point  where  nature  would  plead  for 
respite  and  repose. 

13.  And  Joshua  discomfited  Amalek 
and  his  people.  That  is,  the  Amalekites 
and  th:"  people  of  other  clans  which  had 
confederated  with  them  in  this  assault. 
Junius  and  Tremellius,  however,  make 
the  latter  clause  exegetical  of  the  form- 
er ;  *  discomfited  Amalek,  even  his  peo- 
ple.' 

14.  Write  this  for  a  memorial  in  a 
book,  &c.  The  memorandum  or  memo- 
rial which  Moses  was  commanded  to 
write,  was  undoubtedly  the  very  words 
contained  in  the  final  clause  of  the  verse, 
and  therefore  the  Hebrew  term  trans- 
lated '  for'  should  be  rendered  '  that ;' 
'Write  and  rehearse  it  in  the  ears  of 
Joshua  that  I  will  utterly  put  out,'  &c. 

IT  Rehearse  it  in  the  ears  of  Joshua. 

This  record  was  especially  to  be  im- 
pressed, and,  as  it  were,  engraven,  upon 
the  memory  of  Joshua,  inasmuch  as  he 
was  the  destined  successor  of  Moses, 
as  head  of  the  ohosen  people,  and  it 
was  all  important  for  him  to  be  in- 
formed what  particular  tribes  or  na- 
tions they  were  with  whom  the  Israel- 
ites were  not  to  make  any  treaties,  but 
rather  to  devote  to  utter  extermination. 
It  would  serve  also  as  a  very  season- 


222 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  U91. 


out  the  remembrance  of  Amalek 
from  under  heaven. 

15  And  Moses  built  an  altar,  and 
called  the  name  of  it  JEHOVAH- 
nissi  : 

able  pledge  and  assurance  that  he  should 
be  victorious  in  the  career  of  his  future 
wars  against  the  enemies  of  God's  peo- 
ple.  IT  I  will  utterly  put  o7it  the  re- 
membrance, &c.  Heb.  r!n)25<  nn72  ma- 
hoh  emheh,  wiping  I  will  wipe  out. 
The  denunciation  is  awfully  emphatic. 
It  declares  that  in  process  of  time  Ama- 
lek should  be  totally  ruined  and  rooted 
out,  that  he  should  be  remembered  only 
in  history.  This  was  but  meting  out  to 
them  the  measure  of  destruction  which 
they  themselves  had  meditated  against 
Israel.  Their  language  was  that  re- 
ported by  the  Psalmist,  Ps.  S3.  4,  'Come, 
and  let  us  cut  them  off  from  being  a 
nation  ;  that  the  name  of  Israel  may  be 
no  more  in  remembrance.'  God  there- 
fore determines  not  only  to  disappoint 
them  in  that,  but  to  cut  o^ their  name. 
It  was  to  be  known  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  Israel,  whenever  the  Amalek- 
ites  should  be  an  annoyance  to  them, 
that  sentence  had  irrevocably  gone  forth 
against  them ;  they  were  a  doomed 
people  J  and  the  chosen  race  should  not 
fail  at  last  to  triumph  over  them.  This 
sentence  was  executed  in  part  by  Saul, 
1  Sam.  15,  and  completely  by  David, 
1  Sam.  30.  2  Sam.  1.  1.— 8.  12,  after 
which  we  never  read  so  much  as  the 
name  of  Amalek.  Thus  are  the  cunning 
taken  in  their  own  craftiness,  and  thus 
are  designs  of  violence  and  blood  turned 
back  upon  the  heads  of  their  contrivers. 
15.  Called  the  name  of  it  Jehovah- 
nissi.  Heb.  "^DD  mn*^  Yehovah  nissi, 
the  Lord  my  banner.  This  was  a  grate- 
ful acknowledgment  to  him  to  whom 
the  glory  of  the  recent  victory  was  due. 
Instead  of  rearing  a  monument  in  honor 
of  Joshua,  or  his  brave  associates,  an 
altar  for  sacrificial  and  thank-offerings 
is  erected  to  God,  of  which  the  most 


16  For  he  said,  Because  the  Lord 
hath  sworn  that  the  Lord  will 
have  war  with  Amalek  from  gene- 
ration to  generation. 


important  item  was  the  inscription,  or 
rather,  the  appellation,  by  which  it  was 
to  be  known.  The  original  term  DD 
nes,  signifying  primarily  lifting  up,  ex- 
altation, is  applied  also  to  a  banner  or 
ensign,  such  as  were  usually  lifted  up 
conspicuously  in  a  field  of  battle  as  a 
rallying-point  to  the  assembled  hosts. 
In  bestowing  the  name  '  Jehovah-nissi' 
upon  the  altar,  there  is  no  doubt  an 
allusion  to  the  lifting  up  of  the  rod 
of  God  as  a  banner  or  standard  in  this 
action.  The  victory  was  achieved,  not 
by  their  own  prowess,  but  by  the  power 
of  Jehovah  accompanying  this  uplifted 
banner,  and  therefore  in  commemorat- 
ing the  result  of  the  conflict  it  was 
proper  that  they  should  recognise  the 
agency  of  the  Most  High  evinced  in 
their  behalf  through  his  appointed  sym- 
bol. It  was,  in  fact,  virtually  adopting 
the  language  of  Israel  in  the  Psalms, 
'Not  unto  us,  0  Lord,  not  unto  us  ;  but 
unto  thy  name,  give  the  glory.'  'We 
will  rejoice  in  thy  salvation,  and  in  the 
name  of  our  God  will  we  set  up  our 
banners.' 

16.  Because  the  Lord  hath  sworn, 
&c.  Heb.  Because  the  hand  DD  ^3> 
rr^  al  kcs  Yah,  upon  the  throne  Yah. 
Very  considerable  doubt  hangs  over  the 
true  interpretation  of  this  clause.  It 
may  be  referred  by  the  construction 
either  to  the  hand  of  Amalek,  or  to  the 
hand  of  the  Lord.  In  the  former  case, 
the  import  is ;  '  Because  the  hand  of 
Amalek  is  upon  (or  against)  the  throne 
of  heaven,  therefore  the  Lord  will  have 
war,'  &c.  In  the  latter,  the  Lord's 
hand  being  upon  the  throne  is  equiva- 
lent  to  the  taking  an  oath  declarative 
of  a  purpose  of  irrevocable  hostility 
toward  Amalek  in  all  generations.  If 
we  adopt  the  former  as  the  true  sense, 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


W 


CHAPTER  XVni. 
HEN  aJethro   the  priest  of 
Midian,  Moses'  father-in-law, 


ch.  2.  16.  &  3.  1. 


the  implication  is,  that  the  attack  made 
by  the  Amalekites  upon  the  Israelites 
while  they  were  under  the  tutelary  con- 
duct of  the  cloudy  pillar,  was  a  virtual 
assault  upon  that  sacred  symbol  itself, 
which  they  were  taught  to  regard  as 
the  seat,  throne,  or  dwelling-place  of 
Jehovah.  This  is  by  no  means  an  im- 
probable interpretation,  although  it  is 
certain  that  the  older  versions  incline 
rather  in  favor  of  the  other.  Thus,  Chal. 
'With  an  oath  this  is  spoken  from  the 
face  of  the  terrible  (one),  whose  majes- 
ty is  upon  the  throne  of  glory  ;  that  it 
shall  come  to  pass  that  war  shall  be 
waged  from  the  face  of  the  Lord  against 
the  men  of  the  house  of  Amalek ;  that 
he  may  consume  them  from  the  genera- 
tions of  the  world.'  Arab.  '  Now  have 
I  cause  to  swear  by  the  throne,  that 
the  Lord  shall  have  war  against  the 
Amalekites,  &c.'  Syr.  '  Lo,  the  hand 
upon  the  throne,  the  war  of  the  Lord 
with  Amalek.'  This  idea  is  still  more 
explicitly  enounced  in  the  old  rabbinical 
work,  Pirke  Eliezer,  c.  44,  'Wlien  God 
would  root  out  and  destroy  all  Amalek's 
seed,  he  stretched  forth  his  right  hand, 
and  took  hold  on  the  throne  of  his  glory, 
and  sware  to  root  out  and  destroy  all 
Amalek's  seed  out  of  this  world  and  out 
of  the  world  to  come.'  The  Greek  renders 
as  if  the  reading  of  their  text  was  ditfer- 
ent  from  what  it  is  at  present ;  'And  Mo- 
ses built  an  altar  to  the  Lord,  and  called 
the  name  of  it,  The  Lord  my  refuge  ; 
because  with  a  hidden  hand  (secretly) 
the  Lord  will  war  against  Amalek  from 
generation  to  generation.'  Vulg.  '  Be- 
cause the  hand  upon  the  throne  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  war  of  the  Lord,  shall  be 
against  Amalek.'  It  would  seem,  per- 
haps, that  some  of  these  renderings 
must  yield  the  true  sense,  and  yet  we 
are  not  entirely  satisfied  with  any  of 


heard  of  all  tliat  *>  God  had  done 
for  Moses,  and  for  Israel  his  people, 

b  Ps.  44.  1.  «fc  77.  14,  15.  &  78.  4.  &  105.  5, 
43.  &  106.  2,  8. 

them.  As  it  is  clear  that  the  lifting  up 
of  the  rod  in  the  hand  of  Moses  was 
the  prominent  incident  in  the  whole 
transaction,  it  is  certainly  natural  to 
look  for  some  allusion  to  that  in  the 
words  of  the  present  record.  We  would 
suggest  then,  with  deference,  whether 
the  hand  of  Moses  is  not  the  hand  in- 
tended in  the  passage.  Because  his 
hand  was  upon,  or  towards,  as  the  orig- 
inal ^5>  al  will  admit,  the  heavens,  or 
perhaps  the  cloudy  pillar,  which  may 
have  been  near,  and  was  perseveringly 
sustained  in  that  direction,  therefore  the 
Lord  assumes  this  contest  as  his  own, 
and  declares  perpetual  war  against  the 
devoted  race  who  have  ventured  to 
provoke  his  hostility.  How  far  the  pro- 
posed construction  goes  to  free  the  pas- 
sage from  obscurity  must  be  left  to  the 
judgment  of  the  reader. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

1.  When  Jethro,  the  priest  of  Midian, 
&c.  Lightfoot,  in  accordance  with  Aben 
Ezra  and  Jarchi,  is  of  opinion  that  this 
account  of  Jethro's  visit  to  Moses  is  in- 
serted out  of  its  chronological  order, 
which  would  require  its  collocation  be- 
tween the  tenth  and  eleventh  verses  of 
the  tenth  chapter  of  Numbers.  That  it 
does  not  properly  pertain  to  this  part 
of  the  narrative,  he  argues,  (1.)  From 
the  fact  mentioned  verse  12,  that  'Jethro 
took  burnt-olferings  and  sacrifices  for 
God,'  whereas  the  law  respecting  these 
offerings  was  not  yet  given.  (2.)  From 
that  mentioned  in  v.  13.  IG,  that  'Moses 
sat  to  judge  the  people,  and  made  them 
know  the  statutes  of  God  and  his  law,' 
whereas  these  statutes  and  laws  not 
having  yet  been  promulgated,  Moses 
himself  could  not  know  them.  (3.)  It 
appears  from  Deut.  1.  9 — 1.3,  that  the 
juflges  and  rulers  here  mentioned,  were 


224 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


and  that  the  Lord  had   brought 
Israel  out  of  Egypt  : 

2  Then  Jethro,  Moses'  father-in- 
law,  took  Zipporah,  Moses'  wife, 
•^  after  he  had  sent  her  back, 

3  And  her  d  two  sons  ;  of  which 
the  e  name  of  the  one  \ms  Ger- 
shom ;  (for  he  said,  I  have  been  an 
alien  in  a  strange  land:) 

c  ch.  4.  26.     d  Acts  7.  29.     ^  di.  2.  22. 


not  appointed  till  after  the  departure 
from  Sinai,  and  yet  at  this  time  they 
had  not  arrived  at  Sinai.  The  infer- 
ence, therefore,  plainly  is,  that  this  in- 
cident is  transposed  from  its  natural 
place  in  the  order  of  the  sacred  story. 
The  reason  of  the  present  arrangement, 
Lightfoot  says,  is  to  be  sought  for  in 
the  prophetic  curse  denounced  against 
the  Amalekites  in  the  close  of  the  pre- 
ceding chapter;  for  as  Jethro  and  his 
family  were  residing  in  the  country  of 
this  devoted  people,  it  was  proper  to 
afford  the  reader  an  intimation  that  he 
Avas  not  to  be  involved  in  their  doom, 
and  accordingly  the  incident  of  his  visit 
to  the  camp  of  Israel,  and  his  joining 
in  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  is  in- 
troduced in  immediate  coimection  with 
the  mention  of  the  curse ;  not  that  it 
actually  occurred  at  that  precise  time, 
but  to  show  that  he  once  came,  and 
evinced  by  his  conduct  that  he  was  ex- 
empted from  the  denunciation.  This 
view  of  the  subject  we  consider  on  the 
whole  the  correct  one.  In  regard  to 
Jethro  and  his  true  relation  to  Moses, 
see  Note  on  Ex.  2.  IS. 

2.  Then  Jethro  took,  &c.  Neither 
time  nor  distance  had  alienated  his  af 
fection  for  the  husband  of  his  daughter, 
of  which  he  gives  decisive  evidence  in 
undertaking  the  present  journey.  He 
does  not  satisfy  himself  with  sending 
by  the  mouth  of  another  his  congratu- 
lations to  his  son-in-law,  neither  will  he 
permit  Zipporah  and  her  sons  to  go  un- 
accompanied, unprotected  through  the 
wilderness,  but  aged  and  infirm  as  he 


4  And  the  name  of  the  other  ivas 
Eliezer ;  (for  the  God  of  my  father, 
said  he,  teas  mine  help,  and  deliver- 
ed me  from  the  sword  of  Pharaoh :) 

o  And  Jethro,  Moses'  father-in- 
law,  came  with  his  sons  and  his 
wife  unto  Moses  into  the  wilder- 
ness, where  he  encamped  at  f  the 
mount  of  God : 

fch.  3.  1,  12. 


is,  choses  himself  to  be  their  attend- 
ant and  guardian.  He  had  undoubtedly 
heard  the  report  of  the  great  and  glori- 
ous things  which  had  been  wrought  for 
the  deliverance  of  Israel,  and  though 
as  a  Midianite  he  was  not  to  share  with 
them  in  the  promised  land,  yet  as  a  de- 
scendant of  Abraham  and  a  worshipper 
of  Israel's  God,  he  feels  a  deep  interest 
in  their  welfare,  and  sympathises  with 
them  in  the  joy  of  their  deliverance 

IT  After  he  had  sent  her  back.   That 

is,  from  the  inn  or  lodging-place  men- 
tioned, Ex.  4,  26,  where  Moses'  life  had 
been  endangered  in  the  manner  and  foi 
the  reasons  thus  explained.  He  no  doubt 
foresaw  that  the  presence  of  his  wife 
and  children  would  be  a  hindrance  in- 
stead of  a  help  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
mission  to  Pharaoh. 

3.  The  name  of  the  one  was  Ger shorn. 
That  is,  stranger  there  ;  alluding  there- 
by not  only  to  his  o\vn  condition  at  the 
time,  but  designing  it  as  a  memorial 
also  to  his  son  of  his  condition,  as  a 
stranger  and  pilgrim  on  earth,  as  all 
his  fathers  were. 

4.  The  name  of  the  other  was  Eliezer. 
That  is,  my  God  a  help,  as  immediate- 
ly after  explained. IT  Delivered  me 

from  the  sword  of  Pharaoh.  The  obvi- 
ous deduction  from  this  mode  of  render- 
ing is,  that  this  deliverance  from  the 
sword  of  Pharaoh  is  no  other  than  his 
escape  from  the  royal  vengeance  after 
slaying  the  Egyptian.  But  in  this  case  it 
would  have  been  more  natural,  while  that 
event  was  fresh  upon  his  mind,  to  bestow 
such  a  commemorative  name  upon  the 


B.  C.  ]491.] 


CHAPTER  XVril. 


225 


6  And  he  said  unto  Moses,  I  thy 
father-in-hiw  Jelhro  am  come  unto 
thee,  and  thy  wife,  and  her  two 
sons  with  her. 

7  H  And  JMoses  s  went  out  to  meet 
his  father-in-law,  and  did  obeisance, 
and  i»  kissed  him  :  and  they  asked 


SGen.  14.  17.  &  18.  2.  &  19.  1.     1  Kings  2. 
19.     hGen.  29.  13.  &33.4. 

first  born,  rather  than  upon  the  second; 
and  as  the  original  will  as  well,  if  not 
better,  admit  of  it,  we  prefer  to  render 
the  verb  in  the  future,  'The  Lord  is 
mine  help  and  will  deliver  me  from  the 
sword  of  Pharaoh,'  which  he  had  reason 
to  expect  would  be  drawn  against  him 
in  his  attempt  to  bring  Israel  out  of 
bondage.  It  is  a  name  which  is  at  once 
indicative  of  Moses'  grateful  acknow- 
ledgment of  God's  past  mercies  and  of 
his  faith  in  his  future  kindness.  In  this 
case,  the  child  thus  named  was  probably 
not  the  one  which  was  circumcised  by 
his  mother  at  the  place  above  men- 
tioned. 

6.  And  he  said  unto  Moses.  Not  per- 
sonally, but  by  messengers  despatched 
before  him  to  acquaint  Moses  with  his 
coming.  Thus  in  like  manner  by  com- 
paring Mat.  8.  5 — 8,  with  Luke  7.  3—6, 
it  appears  that  what  the  centurion  is  re- 
presented as  saying  to  Jesus,  was  said 
to  him  by  certain  persons  whom  he  had 
sent  for  the  ])urpose.  Accordingly  the 
Gr.  version  of  the  present  passage  reads 
thus:  'And  it  was  told  Moses,  saying, 
Lo,  Jethro  thy  father-in-law  cometh.' 
Vulg.  'He  sent  word  to  Moses.' 

7.  Moses  xcent  out  to  meet  his  father- 
in-law.  The  acquaintance  which  we 
have  already  formed  with  Moses  as- 
sures us  before  hand  of  tlie  reception 
with  which  he  would  greet  his  honored 
relative.  Our  anticipations  are  realized. 
Though  a  prophet  and  a  judge  in  Israel, 
he  does  not  forget  the  duties  that  grow 
out  of  his  relations  as  a  man.  Instead 
of  waiting  in  state  till  his  visitors  are 


each  other  of  their  welfare  ;  and 
they  came  into  the  tent. 
S  And  Moses  told  his  father-in-law 
all  that  the  Lord  had  dune  unto 
Pharaoh,  and  to  the  Egyptians  for 
Israel's  sake,  and  all  the  travail 
that  had  come  upon  them  by  the 
way,  and  how  the  Lord  i  delivered 
them. 

i  Ps.  78.  42.  &  81.  7.  &  106.  10.  &  107.  2. 


admitted  to  pay  their  homage  to  the 
'  king  in  Jeshurun,'  he  goes  forth  with 
alacrity  to  meet  them,  and  after  the 
usual  significant  tokens  of  respect,  to 
conduct  them  into  his  tent.  However 
highly  the  providence  of  God  may  have 
advanced  us  in  rank  or  authority,  yet 
we  are  bound  to  give  honor  to  whom 
honor  is  due,  and  never  to  look  with 
disdain  upon  our  kinsmen  or  others  in 
an  humbler  sphere  of  life.  No  dignities 
conferred  by  God  can  exempt  us  from 
entertaining  the  sentiments  or  evincing 

the  signs  of  natural  aflection. IT  They 

asked  each  other  of  their  welfare.  Lit- 
erally, '  they  a.sked  a  man  his  neighbor 
of  peace.'  Of  this  pliraseology  see  Note 
on  Gen.  29.  6.-37,  5.  'Even  the  kind 
'How-do-you's'  that  pass  between  them 
are  taken  notice  of,  as  the  expressions 
and  improvements  of  mutual  love  and 
friendship.'     Henry. 

8.  Moses  told  his  father  all,  Sic.  The 
separation  of  near  and  dear  friends  even 
for  a  few  days  or  weeks  naturally  calls 
up  a  thousand  little  topics  of  interest 
when  they  meet.  What  then  must  it 
have  been  for  two  such  friends,  such  a 
father  and  such  a  son,  to  meet  after  an 
interval  of  many  months,  during  which 
events  of  such  stupendous  character  had 
occurred?  —  events  supremely  interest- 
ing to  them,  and  destined  lo  live  in 
the  memory  of  all  coming  gener.ations. 
Were  ever  two  individuals  furni.shed 
with  such  a  subject  of  conversation  ?  If 
the  most  trifling  incidents  that  befall  a 
brother,  a  friend,  a  parent,  a  child,  are 
full  of  interest  to  the  parlies  concerned, 


226 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


9  And  Jcthro  rejoiced  for  all  the 
goodness  Avhich  the  Lord  had  done 
to  Israel,  whom  he  had  delivered 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians. 

10  And  Jethro  said,  k  Blessed  be 
the  Lord,  who  hath  delivered  you 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians, 
and  out  of  the  hand  of  Pharaoh, 

k  Gen.  14.20.     2  Sam.  18.  28.     Luke  1.  68. 

what  must  have  been  the  emotions  of 
Jethro  in  listening  to  the  wondrous  nar- 
rative of  Moses?  Yet  it  was  for  this 
object,  among  others,  that  he  came. 
He  wished  to  learn  more  fully  and  par- 
ticularly the  events  of  which  he  had 
heard  in  a  general  and  indefinite  report ; 
and  in  this  conversation  we  may  see 
a  specimen  of  those  themes  which  are 
most  grateful  to  a  gracious  heart.  They 
are  well  characterised  by  the  Psalmist, 
Ps.  14.5,5—12,  'I  will  speak  of  the  glori- 
ous honor  of  thy  majesty,  and  of  thy 
wondrous  works.  And  men  shall  speak 
of  the  might  of  thy  terrible  acts:  and  I 
will  declare  thy  greatness.  They  shall 
abundantly  utter  the  memory  of  thy 
great  goodness,  and  shall  sing  of  thy 
righteousness.  They  shall  speak  of  the 
glory  of  thy  kingdom,  and  talk  of  thy 
power ;  to  make  known  to  the  sons  of 
men  his  mighty  acts,  and  the  glorious 

majesty  of  his  kingdom.' IT  All  the 

travail  that  had  come  upon  them.  Heb. 
firiK!Z?3  ^'il'i<  asher  metzatham,  which 
had  found  them.  For  this  sense  of  the 
original  word,  viz.,  the  happening  of 
afflictions  to  any  one,  see  Note  on  Gen. 
44.  34. 

9.— 10.  And  Jethro  rejoiced,  &c.  The 
emotions  excited  in  Jethro's  breast  by 
the  narrative  of  Moses,  soon  rose  above 
all  personal  or  selfish  regards,  above  the 
partiality  of  private  friendship,  above 
the  tenderness  of  natural  affection.  His 
heart  expands  at  the  thought  of  the 
wonders  wrought  by  the  divine  inter- 
position in  behalf  of  Israel.  Though  a 
Midianite,  yet  he  is  conscious  of  joy 
unfeigrned  in  view  of  the  goodness  shown 


who  hath  delivered  the  people  from 
under  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians. 

11  Now  1  know  that  the  Lord  is 
1  greater  than  all  gods  :  "'  for  in  the 
thing  wherein  they  dealt  »  proudly, 
he  was  above  them. 

1  2  Chron.  2.  5.  Ps.  95.  3.  &  97.  9.  &  135.  5. 
mch.  1.  10,  16,  22.  &  5.  2,  7.  &  14.  8,  18. 
n  1  Sam.  2.  3.  Neh.  9.  10,  16,  29.  .Job.  40.  11, 
12.     Ps.  31.  23.  &  119.  21.     Luke  1.51. 

to  a  foreign  people,  while  many  of  the 
Israelites  themselves  were  murmuring 
under  the  sense  of  their  privations  and 
hardships.  His  joyful  emotions,  how- 
ever, are  not  blind  to  the  true  source  of 
the  blessings  which  prompt  them.  He 
gives  the  glory  to  God,  and  not  to  Mo- 
ses or  to  Israel.  He  who  is  tlie  orig- 
inating fountain  of  all  good  to  his  peo- 
ple is  the  ultimate  object  of  their  joy 
and  their  praise.  We  cannot  without 
treachery  to  his  glory  and  black  ingrat- 
itude to  his  goodness  stop  short  of  him 
in  our  ascriptions. 

11.  In  the  thing  wherein  they  dealt 
proudly,  &c.  Heb.  mt  ^IL'ti  ^mn 
dn"!^^'  baddabar  asher  zadu  alchem,  in 
the  thing  in  which  they  (the  Egyptians) 
dealt  proudly  towards  or  agaiiist  them 
(the  Israelites),  he  w^as  still  too  strong 
for  them  ;  this  last  clause  or  something 
similar  being  necessary  to  supply  the 
ellipsis.  Compare  Neh.  9.  10,  Avhich 
has  a  reference  to  this  passage.  Chal. 
'In  the  thmg  wherein  the  Egyptians 
thought  to  judge  Israel,  in  that  they 
are  judged.'  The  pronoun  'they'  in 
the  original  is  somewhat  indefinite  in 
construction,  and  may  be  supposed  to 
include  largely  not  only  all  the  Egypt- 
ian princes  and  potentates,  but  also  the 
magicians,  the  courtiers,  and  the  com- 
mon people.  In  spite  of  all  their  eflforts 
and   machinations,   they  were    baffled,  ^ 

subdued,  humbled,  and  Israel  triumph-  m 

antly  rescued  from  their  grasp.  In  like 
manner  will  he  sooner  or  later  show 
himself  above  every  thing  that  opposes 
him  or  sets  itself  up  in  competition 
with  him. 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


227 


12  And  Jethro,  Moses'  father-in- 
law,  took  a  burnt-otTering  and  sac- 
ritices  for  God :  and  Aaron  came, 
and  all  the  elders  of  Israel  to  eat 


12.  Took  a  burnt-offering  and  sacri- 
fices for  God.  The  friendly  interview 
issues  in  a  solemn  religious  service,  in 
which  Aaron  and  all  the  elders  of  Is- 
rael are  called  to  assist.  By  the  latter 
term  is  to  be  understood  sacrifices  of 
peace-offerings,  or  eucharistic  oblations, 
and  of  these  the  banquet  was  exclusive- 
ly composed  :  for  it  was  not  lawful  to 
eat  of  the  burnt-offerings,  which  were 
to  be  consumed  whole  as  a  holocaust. 
Comp.  Lev.  7.  15,  with  Lev.  I.  9.  Hav- 
ing had  communion  with  each  other 
in  joy  and  thankfulness,  they  now  con- 
tinue it  in  a  feast  and  a  sacrifice,  in 
■which  it  is  probable,  that  Jethro,  who 
was  priest  of  Midian,  and  a  worship- 
per of  the  true  God,  officiated.  What 
could  be  more  decorous  or  proper  than 
that  such  a  friendship  as  subsisted  be- 
tween these  holy  men,  should  be  conse- 
crated by  an  act  of  joint-worship  ? 

IT  To  eat  bread.  The  usual  term  for 
food.  Yet  it  is  reasonably  supposed 
that  an  opportunity  was  afforded  to 
Jethro  of  seeing  and  tasting  that  won- 
derful bread  from  heaven  by  which  Is- 
rael was  now  sustained. IF   Before 

God.  That  is,  before  the  glory  of  God 
appearing  in  the  cloud,  or  perhaps  be- 
fore the  tabernacle,  which  we  suppose 
to  have  been  now  erected.  But  we  need 
not,  on  this  account,  exclude  the  addi- 
tional sense  of  eating  soberly,  thank- 
fully, in  the  fear  and  to  the  glory,  of 
God.  This  they  no  doubt  did,  and  from 
the  whole  incident  we  gather  an  example 
well  worthy  of  imitation.  Let  those  who 
enjoy  the  delight  of  a  happy  meeting, 
again  to  mingle  the  sympathies  of  friend- 
ship and  domestic  affection,  after  a 
season  of  separation,  not  fail,  while  ac- 
knowledging the  goodness  of  God,  to 
offer  up  their  united  tribute  of  thanks- 
giving to  the  Author  of  all  their  mercies. 


bread  with   Moses'   father-in-law 
•>  before  God. 
13  If  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the 

o  Dent.  12.  :.     1  Chron.  29.  22.     1  Cor.  10. 
18,21,31.    

13.  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  mor- 
row, &c.  Due  attention  having  been 
paid  to  the  riles  of  hospitality,  the  dic- 
tates of  friendship,  and  the  demands  of 
fdial  duty,  Moses  re-enters  next  day 
upon  the  discharge  of  his  public  func- 
tions as  lawgiver  and  judge.  Although 
the  presence  of  his  father,  and  the  re-. 
cent  arrival  of  Ids  wife  and  children, 
would  seem  to  have  given  him  a  good 
pretence  for  at  least  a  short  respite  Irom 
his  judicial  labors,  yet  he  resumed  his 
task  the  very  next  day  after  their  com- 
ing, as  if  acting  under  the  full  force  of 
the  conviction  that  ceremonious  atten- 
tions must  give  place  to  necessary  busi- 
ness. And  this,  as  a  general  rule,  is 
no  doubt  correct.  The  time,  the  talents, 
of  the  minister  ol'God,  whether  ecclesi- 
astical or  civil,  are  not  his  own,  they 
belong  to  his  fellow  men  ;  and  if  the 
burdens  of  such  stations  were  duly  con- 
sidered, they  would  be  much  seldomer 
looked  at  with  envy  than  they  now  are. 
The  honors  and  emoluments  are  often 
wishfully  eyed,  while  tlie  thousand 
sacrifices  of  ease,  of  inclination,  |r)f 
health,  of  private  attachment,  are  en- 
tirely overlooked.  The  anxious  days, 
the  sleej)less  nights,  the  painfid  toils, 
the  causeless  disaffection,  the  open  odi- 
um, the  secret  aspersions,  which  one's 
ofiicial  conduct  incurs,  are  not  taken 
into  the  account.  Many  would  no  doubt 
be  eager  to  be  Moses,  sitting  on  high 
and  judging  the  people  ;  but  wiio  would 
be  Moses,  oppressed  and  worn  down  by 
the  burden  of  the  multitude  thronged 
around  him  'from  the  morning  unto  the 
evening'  ?  Tiie  narrative  makes  it  plain 
that  Moses  did  not  spare  himself  the 
most  onerous  duties  of  his  station.  In 
so  vast  an  assembly  it  is  easy  to  con- 
ceive that  the  controversies  and  matters 
of  reference  would  be  very  numerous. 


228 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


morrow,  that  Moses  sat  to  judge 
the  people  :  and  the  people  stood 
hy  Moses  from  the  morning  unto 
the  evening. 

14  And  when  Moses'  father-in-law 
saw  all  that  he  did  to  the  people,  he 
said,  What  is  this  thing  that  thou 
doest  to  the  people  ?  Why  sittest 
thou  thyself  alone,  and  all  the  peo- 
ple stand  by  thee  from  morning 
unto  even  ? 

1 5  And  Moses  said  unto  his  father- 
in-law,  Because  p  the  people  come 
unto  me  to  inquire  of  God  : 

P  Lev.  24.  12.  Numb.  15.  34. 


and  as  the  appeal  was  directly  to  Mo- 
ses, as  the  organ  of  God,  it  would  be 
inevitable  that  the  load  of  responsibility 
and  toil  should  be  almost  too  great  for 
human  endurance.  Jethro  accordingly, 
observing  the  weighty  and  fatiguing 
cares  which  thus  devolved  upon  his  son- 
in-law,  was  convinced  that  his  physical 
powers  would  soon  sink  under  such  a 
burden,  and  ventured  to  expostulate 
with  him  in  regard  to  it.  The  reply  of 
Moses  shows  how  anxious  he  was  to  do 
liis  duty,  and  make  himself  the  servant 
of  all,  notwithstanding  the  unworthy 
returns  which  he  often  met  witli  at  their 
hands.  He  tells  him  that  lie  found  it 
necessary  to  perform  this  arduous  ser- 
vice, because  the  people  wished,  through 
him,  to  ascertain  the  will  of  God,  as  the 

supreme  authority  in  their  concerns. 

IT  Come  unto  me  to  inquire  of  God. 
Heb.  'D"^u):K  in^l'^  lidrosh  Elohim,  to 
seek  God.  That  is,  to  inquire  of  me 
what  is  the  mind  and  will  of  God,  in 
whose  name  and  authority  I  both  speak 
and  act.  The  original  implies,  how- 
ever, more  than  a  bare  'seeking.'  It  is 
applied  to  an  anxious,  studious,  careful 
quest,  as  in  consulting  an  oracle.  It  is 
to  seek  any  thing,  or  apply  to  any  per- 
son with  earnest  and  atfectionate  inter- 
est ;  and  therefore  is  not  improperly, 
though  still    inadequately  rendered   in 


16  When  they  have  q  a  matter, 
they  come  unto  me,  and  I  judge 
between  one  and  another,  and  I  do 
»■  make  them  know  the  statutes  of 
God,  and  his  laws. 

17  And  Moses'  fatlier-in-law  said 
unto  him.  The  thing  that  thou 
doest  is  not  good. 

18  Thou  wilt  surely  wear  away, 
both  thou,  and  this  people  that  is 
with  thee :  for  this  thing  is  too 
heavy  for  thee  ;  » thou  art  not  able 
to  perform  it  thyself  alone. 

q  ch.  23.  7.  &24.  14  Deut.  17.  8.  2  Sam.  15. 
3.  Job.  31.  13.  Acts  18.  1^.  1  Cor.  6.  1.  rLev 
24.  15.  Numb.  15.  35.  &  27.  6,  &c.  &  36.  6,  7, 
8,  9.     sNumb.  11.  14.  17.     Deut.  1.  9,  12. 


our   translation    '  to  inquire  of.'     Gr. 

CK^rjTni^ai    Kpiaiv   nnpa    top   Oeov,    to    Seek 

judgment  of  God.  Chal.  'To  seek  doc- 
trine from  the  face  of  the  Lord.' 

16.  When  they  have  a  matter.  Heb. 
^!in  tu^  rr^ri''  '^'Z  kl  yihyek  lahem  da- 
bar,  u-hen  there  is  to  them  a  word.  On 
this  phraseology  see  Note  on  Gen.  15. 1. 
Gr.  avnhiyui,  a  Controversy,  as  also  iu 

Ex.24.  14.   Deut.  1.  12. ^^  Between 

one  and  another.  Heb.  y^'y]  tL'^i^  X"2 
in3'"1  bin  ish  u-b'e'n  rciihu,  between  a 
man  and  between  his  fellow;  a  frequent 

Hebrew  idiom. IT   /  do  make  them 

kriow.  Heb.  "^I^^'lin  hodati.  Gr.  av^- 
liiBaCoy  uv7ui>?,  I  instruct  them;  a  version 
confirmed  by  conqiaring  1  Cor.  2.  16, 
'Who  hath  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord, 
that  he  may  i«s^?-wc^  (cvfildiiJaaei)  him,' 
with  Is.  40.  13,  'Who  hath  directed  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord,  or  being  his  coun- 
sellor hath  taught  him  (Heb.  IS^J^nT^ 
yodienu,  hath  made  him  know.  Gr. 
cvfliijiii  avTov,  instructcth  him. 

18.  Thouxcilt  surely  wear  away.  Heb. 
ilDD  iCD  nabol  tibbol;  a  .similitude  drawn 
from  the  leaf  of  a  tree,  which  withers 
for  want  of  moisture.  In  like  manner 
the  corroding  care  growing  out  of  such 
a  charge  on  the  part  of  INIoses  would 
soon  exhaust  the  vital  j.owers  ;  as  Mo- 
ses himself  in  effect  afterward  acknow- 
ledges, Deut.  1.  9, 12.   The  advice  given 


B.  C.  1491.J 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


229 


19  Hearken  now  unto  my  voice,  I 
will  2:ive  thee  counsel,  and  t  God 
shall  be  with  thee :  Be  thou  «  for 
the  people  to  God-ward,  that  thou 
mavest "  bring  the  causes  unto  God : 

20  And  thou  shalt  y  teach  them 
ordinances  and  laws,  and  shalt 
shew  them  z  the  way  wherein  they 
must  walk,  and  a  the  work  that 
they  must  do. 

21  Moreover,  thou  shalt  provide 
out  of  all  the  people,  ^  able  men, 

tch.  3.  12.  u  cli.4.  16.  &  20.  19.  Deut.  5. 
5.  iNuinb.  27.  5.  y  Deut.  4.  1,  5.  &  5.  1. 
&  6.  1,  2.  &  7.  11.  z  ?s.  143.  8.  a  Deut.  1.  IS. 
b  ver.  25  Deut.  1.  15.  16.  &  16.  18.  2  Chroii. 
19.  5.— 10.     Acts  3.  6. 


by  Jethro,  in  its  whole  tenor,  and-  the 
manner  of  it,  is  a  fine  illustration  of  his 
character.  It  shows  him  to  have  been  a 
very  intelligent,wise,  conscientious,  and 
modest  man  ;  one  of  sound  discretion, 
yet  not  disposed  to  dictate  ;  and  espe- 
cially caretul  to  have  the  will  of  God 
ascertained,  even  if  it  should  be  found 
to  run  counter  to  his  judgment. 

19.  I  will  give  thee  counsel,  and  God 
shall  be  with  thee.  That  is,  by  follow- 
ing my  counsel  you  may  anticipate  the 
divine  blessing.     Chal.  '  The  Word  of 

the  Lord  shall   be   for  thy  help.' 

IT  Be  thou  for  the  people  to  God-irard. 
Chal. 'Be  thou  inquiring  doctrine  from 

before  the  Lord.' ^  That  thou  may- 

est  bring  the  causes  unto  God.  Act  thou 
as  mediator  and  interpreter  with  God, 
bringing  the  causes  of'the  people  before 
him,  and  in  turn  also  reporting  '  the 
ordinances  and  laws'  which  constitute 
his  decisions  in  the  matters  referred  to 
him.  The  two  verses,  19,  20,  declare 
the  two-fold  office  which  he  was  to  sus- 
tain, viz.  that  of  advocate  in  behalf  of 
the  people,  and  interpreter  on  the  part 
of  God. 

21.  Provide  out  of  all  the  people  able 
men.  Ileb.  ^"^n  "^TZH  anshi  hayil,men 
of  might  or  force  ;  i.e.  men  of  vigor- 
ous, active,  energetic  character.  See 
the    import   of  the   phrase   explained, 

Vol.  I  20 


such  as  c  fear  God,  d  men  of  truth, 
e  hating  covetousness  ;  and  place 
such  over  them  to  be  rulers  of 
thousands,  and  rulers  of  hundreds, 
rulers  of  lifties,  and  rulers  of  tens  : 
22  And  let  them  judge  the  people 
fat  all  seasons:  b'  and  it  shall  be, 
that  every  great  matter  they  shall 
bring  unto  thee,  but  every  small 
matter  they  shall  judge  :  so  shall 
it  be  easier  for  thyself,  and  h  they 
shall  bear  the  burden  with  thee. 

c  Gen.  42.  18.  2  Sam.  23.  3.  2  Chron.  19. 
9.  d  Ezek.  18.  8.  e  Deut.  16.  19.  f  ver.  26. 
5  ver.  26.  Lev.  24.  II.  Numb.  15.  33.  <t  27. 
2.  &  36,  1.  Deut.  1.  17.  &  17.  8.  >»  Numb. 
11.  17. 


Gen.  47.  6,  where  it  is  rendered  'men  of 
activity,'  while  in  1  Chron.  26.  6,  it  is 
rendered  'mighty  men  of  valor.'  The 
leading  sense  is  that  of  men  of  strong 
character,  active,  efficient  men,  possess- 
ing the  qualities  which  in  modern  times 
we  assign  to  those  who  are  emphati- 
cally termed  good  business  men.  This 
was  the  first  requisite.  The  second  was 
that  they  should  be  men  fearing  God; 
that  is,  conscientious,  pious,  religious 
men;  men  deci)ly  impressed  with  the 
conviction  that  there  is  a  God  above 
them,  whose  eye  is  upon  them,  to  whom 
they  are  accountable,  and  by  whose 
judgment  their  own  will  finally  be  tri- 
ed; men  who  dare  not  do  a  base,  mean, 
or  unjust  thing,  whatever  the  tempta- 
tion, or  however  secretly  it  might  be 
done,  because  they  are  controlled  by  a 
holy  awe  of  heaven.  The  next  qualifi- 
cation insisted  on  is,  that  they  should  be 
7nen  of  truth;  men  whose  word  could 
be  implicitly  relied  upon,  men  of  ap- 
proved fidelity,  who  would  on  no  ac- 
count utter  a  falsehood,  or  betray  a 
trust.  This  is  well  explained  in  the 
Flebrew  Canons  ;  'Men  of  truth  are  such 
as  follow  after  rectitude  for  Us  own 
sake,  who  out  of  th^ir  own  minds  love 
,  the  truth,  and  hate  violent  wrong,  and 
I  flee  from  every  kind  of  injustice.'  Kinal- 
'  ly,  thoy  were  to  be  men  haling  covet' 


230 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


23  If  thou  shalt  do  this  thin^,  and 
God  command  thee  so,  llien  thou 
shalt  he  i  able  to  endure,  and  all 
this  people  shall  also  go  to  k  their 
place  in  peace. 

24  So  Moses  hearkened  to  the 


i  ver.  18    k  Gen.  18.  33.  &  30.  25.  ch. 
2  Sam.  19.  39. 


5.29. 


oustiess,  or  in  other  words,  influenced 
by  a  noble  and  generous  contempt  of 
worldly  wealth,  not  only  not  seeking 
bribes,  or  aiming  to  enrich  themselves, 
but  cherishing  a  positive  abhorrence  of 
any  such  corruption.  He  only  is  fit  to 
be  a  magistrate,  who  'dcspiseth  the  gain 
of  oppression,  and  shaketh  his  hands 
from  the  holding  of  bribes.'  Is.  33.  1.5. 
Men  of  this  character  were  to  be  select- 
ed, and  placed  over  the  people  in  regu- 
lar subordination,  so  that  each  ruler  of 
ten  should  be  under  the  ruler  of  fifty, 
and  so  on,  very  much  according  to  the 
order  usually  established  in  an  army. 
These  were  to  administer  justice  to  the 
people  in  all  smaller  matters,  while 
such  as  were  of  more  importance  were 
to  be  submitted  toJMoses  as  the  ulti- 
mate appeal. 

23.  If  thou  shalt  do  this  thing,  and 
God  shall  command  thee  so.  An  entire 
freedom  from  the  spirit  of  dictation, 
and  a  tone  of  the  most  exemplary  and 
amiable  self-distrust,  is  apparent  in 
those  words.  Knowing  that  Moses  had 
a  better  counsellor  than  he  was,  he 
gives  his  advice  under  correction,  like  a 
modest  and  pious  man,  who  knows  that 
all  human  counsel  is  to  be  gi^en  and 
received  with  an  humble  submission  to 
the  word  and  ])rovidence  of  God.  He 
would  liave  his  suggestions  followed 
only  so  far  as  they  met  with  the  appro- 
bation of  hint  who  is  'excellent  in  coun- 
sel and  mighty  in  operation,'  and  in- 
finite in  both. IT  Then  shalt  thou  be 

able  to  stand.  Heb.  ^Jz^  n^^"^  yakolta 
amod,  thou  shalt  be  able  to  stand;  i.  e. 
to  continue,  to  hold  out ;  a  phraseology 
strongly  confirmatory  of  the  sense  at- 


voice  of  his  father-in-law,  and  did 
all  that  he  had  said. 
25  And  1  Moses  chose  able  men 
out  of  all  Israel,  and  made  them 
heads  over  the  people,  rulers  of 
thousands,  rulers  of  hundreds,  ru- 
lers of  fifties,  and  rulers  of  tens. 

1  Deut.  1.  15.     Acts  6.  5. 

tributed  to  the  passage  Ex.  9.  16,  on 

which  see  Note. IT  Go  to  their  place 

in  peace.  That  is,  either  to  the  land  of 
promise  whither  they  are  travelling  ; 
or,  shall  return  home  in  peace  from  the 
place  of  judicature,  having  •bteined  a 
speedy  adjustment  of  their  dilficulties. 
Thus  a  man's  house  or  ho7ne  is  called 
his  place,  Judg.  7.  7,  'And  let  all  the 
other  people  go  every  man  unto  his 
place;'  i.  e.  to  his  home,  his  place  of 
residence.  Judg.  9.  55,  'And  when  the 
men  of  Israel  saw  that  Abimelech  was 
dead,  they  departed  every  man  unto  his 
place.' 

24,  25.  So  Moses  hearkened,  &c.  The 
advice  which  was  so  discreetly  and 
kindly  given,  was  candidly  and  courte- 
ously received.  A  man  of  a  diflerent 
spirit  would  perhaps  have  rejected  the 
counsel  thus  tendered  by  a  stranger. 
But  Moses  was  above  all  the  selfish 
littleness  which  would  have  prompted 
such  a  treatment  of  Jethro's  sugges- 
tions, and  he  hesitated  not,  on  consider- 
ing its  reasonableness,  to  adopt  the  plan 
proposed.  The  great  Jeliovah  did  not 
disdain  to  permit  his  prophet  to  be 
taught  by  the  wisdom  and  intelligence 
of  a  good  man,  though  he  was  not  of 
the  commonwealth  of  Israel.  It  is  not 
a  little  remarkable  that  the  very  first 
rudiments  of  the  Jewish  polity  were 
thus  suggested  by  a  stranger  and  a 
Midianite.  The  ruler  of  Israel  accord- 
ingly  proceeded  to  make  choice  of  able 
men  for  this  purpose.  But  we  are  not 
to  understand  by  the  language  employ- 
ed, tliat  he  did  this  alone.  '  Moses 
chose,'  i.  e.  he  oversaw  or  superintended 
the  choosing ;  for  the  election  was  ua- 


B.  C.  1491, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


231 


26  And  they  »"  judged  the  people 
at  all  seasons :  the  « hard  causes 
they  brought  unto  Moses,  but  every 
small  matter  they  judged  them- 
selves. 

27  H  And  Moses  let  his  father-in- 
law  depart :  and  «  he  went  his  way 
into  his  own  land. 

n>  ver.  22.  n  Job  29.  16.    "  Numb.  10.  29,  30. 


doubtedly  the  act  of  the  people.  Deut. 
1.  9,  13,  'And  I  spake  unto  you  at  that 
time,  saying,  I  am  not  able  to  bear  you 
myself  alone — take  you  wise  men,  and 
derstanding,  and  known  among  your 
tribes,  and  I  will  make  them  rulers  over 
you.'  In  like  manner  the  deacons  of 
the  primitive  church,  Acts,  6.  3,  were 
chosen  by  the  people,  and  finally  in- 
ducted into  office  by  Ihe  apostles. 
So  also  Acts,  14.  23,  'And  when  they 
had  ordained  them  elders  in  every 
church  ;'  i.  e.  when  they  had,  in  con- 
junction with  the  people,  and  in  the 
capacity  of  superintendents,  seen  to  the 
appointment  of  elders  ;  for  the  original 
word  will  not,  without  violence,  admit 
of  being  construed  as  expressing  the  act 
of  the  apostles  in  contradistinction  from 
that  of  the  people. 

26.  Judged  the  people  at  all  seasons. 
That  is,  at  all  times,  except  when  they 
were  forbidden  by  some  paramount  law 
requiring  their  attendance  upon  the  serv- 
ices of  public  worship. 

27.  And  Moses  let  his  father-in-law 
depart.  Heb.  n^'IJ"'  yeshallah,  dismiss- 
ed, sent  au-ay.  That  is,  with  the  formal- 
ities usual  on  taking  leave  of  an  honored 
guest;  such  as  accompanying  him  to 
some  distance  with  more  or  less  of  an 
escort,  and  invoking  blessings  on  his 
head.  Comp.  Note  on  Gen.  12.  20.  The 
visit  must  have  formed  an  important 
era  in  Jethro's  life,  and  though  we  know 
of  no  particular  authority  for  the  state- 
ment of  the  Chaldee  version,  that  he 
returned  to  make  proselytes  of  his  chil- 
dren, and  of  the  people  of  his  land,  yet 
nothins  would   be  more   natural  than 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

IN  the  third  month,  when  the 
children  of  Israel  were  gone 
forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  the 
same  day  »  came  they  mto  the 
wilderness  of  Sinai. 


a  Numb.  33.  15. 


that  he  should  endeavor  to  impart  to 
others  the  deep  religious  impressions 
which  had  doubtless  been  made  upon 
his  own  mind.  From  Num.  10.  29,  it 
would  appear  that  his  son  Hobab,  who 
probably  came  with  him  to  the  camp, 
remained  with  Moses  in  compliance 
with  his  request.     See  Note  in  loc. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
1.  In  the  third  month.  Heb.  mna 
'i^'n^'j;n  bahodesh  hashshelishi,  in  tht 
third  new  {moon);  as  the  term  proper- 
ly signifies,  by  which  is  to  be  under- 
stood, according  to  Jewish  usage,  the 
first  day  of  the  month,  although  for 
the  sake  of  greater  explicilness  the 
phrase,  '  the  same  day,'  is  added,  mean- 
ing the  first  day  of  the  month.  This 
was  just  forty-five  days  after  their  de- 
parture from  Egypt ;  for  adding  sixteen 
days  of  the  first  month  to  twenty-nine 
of  the  second,  the  result  is  forty-five. 
To  these  we  must  add  the  day  on  which 
Moses  went  up  to  God,  v.  3,  the  next 
day  after  when  he  returned  their  answer 
to  God,  V.  7,  8,  and  the  three  days  more 
mentioned,  v.  10,  11,  which  form  alto- 
gether just  fifty  days  from  the  pass, 
over  to  the  giving  of  the  Law  on  Mount 
Sinai.  Hence  the  feast  wliich  was  kept 
in  aftertimcs  to  celebrate  this  event  was 
called  Pentecost,  or  ihe fiftieth  day.  And 
it  was  at  this  very  feast  that  llie  Holy 
Ghost  was  given  to  the  Apostles,  Acts, 
2.  1 — 4,  to  enable  them  to  communicate 
to  all  mankind  tlie  new  covenant  of  our 
Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ.  Such  a 
striking  coincidence  of  times  and  sea- 
sons  is  peculiarly  worthy  of  note. 


232 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


2  For  they  were  departed  from 
^  Rephidim,  and  were  come  to  the 
desert  of  Smai,  and  had  pitched  in 


bch.  17.  1,8. 


2.  They — were  come  to  the  desert  of 
Sinai,  &c.  Having  now  followed  the 
children  of  Israel  through  their  desert- 
wanderings,  to  the  spot,  which  was  se- 
lected by  God  himself  as  the  scene  of 
the  most  signal  transaction  recorded  in 
all  their  history,  it  becomes  important 
to  ascertain  as  accurately  as  possible 
the  general  features  of  a  locality  dis- 
tinguished as  no  other  region  of  the 
earth  has  ever  been.  The  peninsula  of 
Sinai,  lying  between  the  two  northern 
arms  of  the  Red  Sea,  was  chosen  as  the 
theatre  of  that  scene  of  grandeur  which 
the  Israelites  were  now  called  to  wit- 
ness, and  in  our  remarks  on  the  ensuing 
chapter  we  have  suggested  some  of  the 
reasons  which  may  be  supposed  to  have 
dictated  this  choice.  As  might  natur- 
ally be  expected  from  the  character  of 
the  events  that  have  occurred  there,  the 
region  of  Sinai  has  been  for  many  centu- 
ries a  favorite  place  of  pilgrimage  for 
curious  and  pious  tourists.  In  modern 
times,  in  consequence  of  the  advances 
of  civilization  and  the  comparative  ease 
of  access,  the  tide  of  travel  has  set  still 
more  strongly  in  that  direction,  and  a 
large  amount  of  new  and  important  geo- 
graphical information  has  been  the  re- 
sult. Still  we  cannot  say  that  much 
has  been  done  to  render  this  information 
applicable  to  the  exact  elucidation  of 
the  Scripture  narrative.  Several  import- 
ant points  are,  perhaps  unavoidably,  un- 
settled ;  and  among  these  is  the  identity 
of  the  mountain  itself  upon  which  the 
law  was  delivered.  This  renders  it  some- 
what difficult  to  determine  tlie  precise 
tract  which  is  to  be  understood  by  the 
'wilderness  of  Sinai,'  although  there  can 
be  no  great  error  in  supposing  it  to  be  suf- 
ficiently extensive  to  embrace  the  range 
or  cluster  of  mountains  familiarly  known 
under  the  title  of 'Siuai'  or  'Horeb.'  But 


the  wilderness :  and  there  Israel 
camped  before  c  the  mount. 

cch.  3.1,  12. 


that  the  reader  may  be  able  to  judge  for 
himself  on  this  point,  we  shall  so  far 
avail  ourselves  of  the  results  of  modern 
researches  in  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  as 
to  embody  a  brief  description  of  the  re- 
gion in  which  the  events  of  the  present 
and  succeeding  chapter  occurred. 

The  breadth  of  the  peninsula  of  Sinai 
is  intersected  by  a  chain  of  mountains 
called  'El  Tih,'  which  run  from  east  to 
west,  and  cut  off  a  triangular  portion 
of  the  peninsula  on  the  south,  in  the 
very  centre  of  which  occurs  the  elevated 
group  of  mountains  where  the  Sinai  of 
the  Bible  is  to  be  sought.  This  moun- 
tainous region,  with  its  various  valleys 
and  ravines  of  different  dimensions,  may 
be  described  as  being  comprehended 
within  a  diameter  of  about  forty  miles. 
Its  general  aspect  is  singularly  wild  and 
dreary,  being  composed  almost  entirely 
of  naked  rocks  and  craggy  precipices, 
interspersed  with  narrow  sandy  defiles, 
which  from  being  seldom  refreshed  with 
rain  are  almost  entirely  destitute  of 
vegetation.  Fountains  and  springs  of 
water  are  found  only  in  the  upper  re- 
gions of  the  group,  on  which  account 
they  are  the  place  of  refuge  of  all  the 
Bedouins,  when  the  low  country  is 
parched  up.  From  all  accounts  it  is 
difficult  to  imagine  a  scene  more  deso- 
late and  terrific  than  that  which  consti- 
tutes this  range.  A  recent  traveller  (Sir 
F.  Hermiker)  describes  it  as  a  sea  of  de- 
solation. *It  would  seem,'  says  he,  'as 
if  Arabia  Petraea  had  once  been  an  ocean 
of  lava,  and  while  its  waves  were  run- 
ning mountains  high,  it  was  commanded 
suddenly  to  stand  still ."  Nothing  is  to 
be  seen  but  large  peaks  and  crags  of 
naked  granite,  composing,  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  reach,  a  wilderness  of  shaggy 
rocks  and  valleys  bare  of  verdure.  Mr. 
Stephens,  an  American  traveller,  in  liis 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


233 


'Incidents  of  Travel  in  Egypt,  Arabia 
Petrjpa,  and  the  Holy  Land,'  thus  2:raph- 
icallj'-  describes  his  approach  to  the  re- 
gion in  question: — 'Our  road  now  lay 
between   wild  and   rugged   mountains, 
and  the  valley  itself  was  stony,  broken, 
and  gullied  by  the  washing  of  tlie  winter 
torrents  ;   and   a  few  straggUng  thorn- 
bushes  were  all  that  grew  in  that  region 
of  desolation.   I  had  remarked  for  some 
time,  and  every  moment  impressed  it 
more  and  more  forcibly  upon  my  mind, 
that  every  thing  around  me  seemed  old 
and   in  decay :    the  valley  was  barren 
and  devastated  by  torrents ;  the  rocks 
were  rent ;  the  mountains  cracked,  brok- 
en, and   crumbling  into   thousands    of 
pieces ;  and  we  encamped  at  night  be- 
tween rocks  which  seemed  to  have  been 
torn  asunder  by  some   violent  convul- 
sion, where  the  stones  had  washed  down 
into  the  valley,  and  the  drifted  sand  al- 
most choked   the  passage.      At  every 
step  the  scene  became  more  solemn  and 
impressive.      The    mountains    became 
more  and  more  striking,  venerable,  and 
interesting.     Not  a  shrub  or  blade  of 
grass  grew  on  their  naked   sides,   de- 
formed with  gaps  and  fissures  ;  and  they 
looked  as  if  by  a  slight  jar  or  shake  they 
would  crumble  into  millions  of  pieces. 
It  is  impossible  to  describe  correctly 
the  singularly  interesting  ajipearance  of 
these  inountains.     Age,  hoary  and  ven- 
erable, is   the   predominant  character. 
They  looked  as  if  their  great  Creator 
had  made  them  higher  than  they  are, 
and  their  summits,  worn  and  weakened 
by  the  action  of  the  elements  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  had  cracked  and  fallen. 
The  last  was  by  far  the  most  interest- 
ing day  of  my  journey  to  Mount  Sinai. 
We  were  moving  along  a  broad  valley, 
bounded  by  ranges  of  lofty  and  crumb-  , 
ling   mountains,    forming  an   immense 
rf)cky  rampart  on  each  side  of  us.     ThCT 
whole  day  we  were  moving  between  pa- 
rallel ranges  of  mountain^;,  receding  in 
some  places,  and  then  again  contract-  ' 
ing,  and  about  mid-dav  entered  a  nar-  ' 
20« 


row  and  rugged  defile,  bounded  on  each 
side  with  precipitous  granite  rocks  more 
than  a  thousand  feet  high.    We  entered 
at  the  very  bottom  of  this  defile,  moving 
for  a  time  along  the  dry  bed  of  a  torrent, 
now  obstructed  with  sand  and  stones, 
the  rocks   on  every  side   shivered  and 
torn,  and  the  whole  scene  wild  to  sub- 
limity.    Our  camels   stumbled   among 
the  rocky  fragments  to  such  a  degree 
that  we  dismounted,  and  passed  through 
the  wild  defile  on  foot.     At  tlie  other 
end  we  came  suddenly  upon  a  plain  ta- 
ble of  ground,  and  before  us  towered  in 
awful  grandeur,  so  huge  and  dark  that 
it  seemed  close  to  us,  and  barring  all 
further   progress,   the   end   of  my  pil- 
grimage— the  holy  mountain  of  Sinai. 
Among    all  the   stupendous   works   of 
nature,  not  a  place  can  be  selected  more 
fitted  for   the  exhibition   of  Almighty 
power.     I  have  stood  upon  the  sununit 
of  the  giant  Etna,  and  looked  over  the 
clouds  floating  beneath  it ;  \\\)o\\  the  bold 
scenery  of  Sicily,  and  the  distant  moun- 
tains of  Calabria;  upon  the  top  of  Ve- 
suvius, and  looked  down  upon  the  waves 
of  lava,  and  the  ruined  and  hall-recov- 
ered cities  at  its  foot ;  but  they  are  no- 
thing compared  u-ith   the  terrific  soli- 
tudes and  bleak  majesty  of  Sinai.     An 
observing  traveller  has  well  called  it  a 
perfect  sea  of  desolation.     Not  a  tree, 
or  shrub,  or  blade  of  grass  is  to  be  seen 
upon  the  bare  and  rugged  sides  of  innu- 
merable mountains,  heaving  their  naked 
summits  to  the  skies  ;  while  the  crun»b- 
ling  masses  of  granite  all  around,  and 
the  distant  view  of  the  Syrian  desert, 
with  its  boundless  waste  of  sands,  form 
the  wildest  and  most  dreary,  the  most 
terrific  and  desolate  picture  that  imagin- 
ation can  conceive.'     Carne,  an  English 
traveller,  speaking  of  this  district,  says, 
'From  the  summit  of  Sinai  you  see  only 
innumerable  ranges  of  rocky  mountains. 
One  generally  places,  in  imagination, 
around  Sinai,  extensive  plains  or  sandy 
deserts,   where  the  camp  of  ll:e  hosts 
was  placed;  where  the  families  of  Is- 


234 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


rael  stood  at  the  doors  of  their  tents, 
and  the  line  was  drawn  round  the  moun- 
tain, which  no  one  might  break  through 
on  pain  of  death.  But  it  is  not  thus. 
Save  the  valley  by  which  we  approach- 
ed Sinai,  about  half  a  mile  wide  and  a 
few  miles  in  length,  and  a  small  plain 
we  afterwards  passed  through,  with  a 
rocky  hill  in  the  middle,  there  appear 
to  be  few  open  places  round  the  mount. 
We  did  not,  however,  examine  it  on  all 
sides.  On  putting  the  question  to  the 
superior  of  the  convent,  where  he  imag- 
ined the  Israelites  stood  :  Every  where, 
he  replied,  waving  his  hands  about, — 
in  the  ravines,  the  valleys,  as  well  as 
the  plains.' 

The  two  most  elevated  and  conspicu- 
ous summits  of  this  peninsular  group 
adjoin  each  other,  and  are  respectively 
distinguished  by  the  names  of  Djebel 
Katerin  (Mount  St.  Catherine)  and  Dje- 
bel Mousa  (Mount  Moses)  ;  the  former 
being  for  the  most  part  locally  identified 
with  the  Horeb  of  Scripture,  and  the 
latter  with  Sinai.  Both  terminate  in  a 
sharp  peak,  the  planes  of  which  do  not 
exceed  fifty  or  sixty  paces  in  circum- 
ference. The  former  is  the  higher  of 
the  two,  and  its  summit  commands  a 
very  extensive  prospect  of  the  adjacent 
country, — the  two  arms  of  the  Red  Sea, 
a  part  of  Egypt,  and,  northward,  to 
within  a  few  days'  journey  of  Jerusa- 
lem. There  is,  however,  very  great 
confusion  arising  from  the  application 
of  the  ancient  names  '  Sinai'  and  'Ho- 
reb' to  these  several  summits.  As  both 
these  appellations  are  practically  un- 
known to  the  present  inhabitants  of  the 
country,  it  has  been  left  in  great  meas- 
ure to  the  judgment  or  fancy  of  indi- 
vidual travellers  to  make  the  applica- 
tion. Professor  Robinson,  for  instance, 
supposes  a  third  still  lower  eminence 
in  the  same  vicinity  to  be  the  true  Ho- 
reb ;  while  the  Editors  of  the  '  Modern 
Traveller,'  and  the  'Pictorial  Bible,' 
contend  for  Mount  Serbal,  several  miles 
distant,  as  the  genuine  JNIount  Sinai. 


No  doubt  a  great  portion  of  the  diffi- 
culty on  this  head  has  been  occasioned 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  Scriptures 
employ  these  names,  viz.  as  if  they 
were  wholly  convertible  with  each  other. 
On  this  point  we  cannot  but  agree  with 
the  arguments  and  the  conclusions  of 
the  last  mentioned  writers,  of  whom  the 
latter  speaks  thus  ; — 'In  some  passages 
of  the  Pentateuch  the  law  is  described 
as  having  been  delivered  from  Mount 
Horeb,  and  in  others  from  Mount  Sinai, 
and  this  is  one  of  the  apparent  contra- 
dictions, of  which  scepticism  has  avail- 
ed itself  to  throw  doubt  on  the  verity 
of  the  narrative,  or  at  least  to  question 
that  the  books  in  which  these  seeming 
discrepancies  occur  were  written  by  the 
same  person.  The  answer  to  this  has 
been  by  a  reference  to  Mounts  Catherine 
and  Moses,  as  distinct  but  adjoining 
peaks  of  the  same  range  of  mountains  ; 
and  we  have  no  doubt  but  that  it  was 
this  view  of  the  subject  which  occa- 
sioned the  summits  which  now  pass  for 
Sinai  and  Horeb  to  obtain  the  distinc- 
tion they  now  bear.  But  it  does  not 
appear  to  us  how  this  answ^ers  the  ob- 
jection we  have  stated,  because  if  Sinai 
and  Horeb  are  only  distinct  summits  of 
the  same  range,  how  could  the  same 
transaction  take  place  in  both  at  once, 
any  more  than  if  they  Avere  perfectly 
distinct  mountains  ?  From  a  careful  ex- 
amination of  the  various  passages  in 
which  the  names  of  'Horeb'  and  'Sinai' 
occur,  we  think  it  might  be  easy  to 
sliow  that  these  names  are  diflfierent  de- 
nominations of  the  same  mountain.  But 
it  seems  to  us  that  it  is  susceptible  of 
being  still  more  distinctly  shown  that 
'Horeb'  is  the  name  of  the  whole  moun- 
tainous region  generally,  while  'Sinai' 
is  the  name  of  the  particular  summit. 
It  appears  to  us  that  Horeb  is  usually 
spoken  of  as  a  region,  the  common  form 
of  expression  being  generally  'in  Iloreb,' 
and  that  where  spoken  of  as  a  moun- 
tain, it  is  in  the  same  general  way  as 
when   we   speak  of  Mount  Caucasus, 


B.  C.  149J. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


235 


meaning  thereby  an  cxtens«ivc  range  of 
mountains.  Bat  'Sinai'  is  uisiially  S])oken 
of  as  a  distinct  mountam  ;  'on,'  or  'upon 
Sinai,'  being  the  most  common  mode  of 
ex])ression,  as  we  should  speak  of  a 
particular  mountain  or  peak  in  a  moun- 
tainous or  any  other  region.  We  believe 
there  is  no  instance  in  wliich  the  name 
of  Horeb  occurs  so  as  to  convey  the 
idea  of  ascent,  descent,  or  standing  upon 
it  as  a  mountain,  whereas  this  is  invari- 
ably the  idea  with  which  the  name  of 
Sinai  is  associated.  It  is  true  that  there 
are  two  passages  which  appear  to  mili- 
tate against  this  view,  but  when  care- 
fully considered,  they  do  in  fact  con- 
firm it.  Thus  in  Ex.  3.  1,  'Moses  .  . 
came  to  the  mountain  of  God,  even  to 
Horeb  j'  and  in  1  Kings,  19.  8,  Elijah 
goes  'unto  Horeb,  the  mount  of  God.' 
In  both  these  places  it  would  be  most 
obvious  to  understand  that  Horeb  de- 
notes the  whole,  ajid  the  'mount  of  God' 
the  part ;  which  will  be  the  more  evi- 
dent when  it  is  recollected  that  the  term 
♦moiin'i  of  God'  would  be  no  distinction 
at  all,  unless  the  region  were  also  men- 
tioned ;  because  this  distinction  is  not 
peculiar  to  the  mountain  on  which  the 
law  was  delivered.  The  reader  who 
wishes  to  verify  the  view  we  have  taken, 
will  moreover  find  further  conhrmation 
by  observing  that  actions  are  mentioned 
as  having  been  done  'in  Horeb,'  which 
were  certainly  not  done  nn  any  particu- 
lar mountain,  but  in  the  surrounding 
valleys  or  plains.  Thus  the  Israelites 
are  said  to  have  'made  a  calf  in  Horeb,' 
(Ps.  10(5.  19) — certainly  not  in  a  moun- 
tain, but  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai  while 
Moses  was  in  the  mountain.  The  rock 
smitten  by  Moses  for  water  is  called 
the  '  rock  in  Horeb'  (Ex.  17.  6),  which 
according  to  the  view  we  take,  is  com- 
patible with  the  situation  we  have  indi- 
cated for  Repiiidim  ;  whereas  those  who 
regard  Horeb  as  a  particular  mountain, 
and  determine  that  mountain  to  be 
Djebel  Katerin,  have  been  necessarily 
obliged  to  fix  the   smitten  rock  in  a 


wholly  unsuitable  situation,  in  the  nar- 
row valley  of  El  Ledja  at  the  foot  of 
that  peak.  It  also  deserves  to  be  no- 
ticed, that  Josephus  does  not  mention 
any  mount  called  Horeb,  He  speaks 
exclusively  of  Mount  Sinai,  and  after 
noticing  the  transactions  at  Rephidim, 
says  that,  on  leaving  that  station,  the 
Israelites  went  on  gradually  till  they 
came  to  Sinai.'  The  writer  having  thus 
adjusted  the  relation  to  each  other  of 
the  terms  'Horeb'  and  'Sinai,'  proceeils 
to  adduce  a  variety  of  reasons  to  show 
that  Mount  Serbal,  and  not  Mount  Mo- 
ses, prefers  the  strongest  claims  to  be- 
ing the  place  to  which  God  descended 
at  the  giving  of  the  Law.  We  must  re- 
fer the  reader  to  the  pages  of  the  Pic- 
torial Bible  for  a  very  elaborate  can- 
vassing of  the  respective  claims  of  these 
two  localities.  The  principal  difficulty 
in  regard  to  the  ];resent  Mount  Sinai,  is 
the  want  of  sufficient  Space  lor  the  en- 
camping: of  so  large  a  host  as  that  of 
Israel,  and  the  impossibility  of  its  sum- 
mit, or  that  of  Mount  St.  Catherine,  be- 
ing seen  by  all  the  people  at  the  same 
time.  Mount  Serbal,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  asserts,  fully  meets  tlie  idea  which 
the  reader  of  the  Scripture  is  naturally 
led  to  entertain  of  Sinai,  as  a  detached 
mountam,  or  rather  cluster  of  moun- 
tains, with  ample  open  ground  around 
the  base  in  which  the  host  might  en- 
camp. Some  of  the  vallies  also  about 
Mount  Serbal  are  fertile  and  well-wa- 
tered ;  whereas  at  the  other  point  it 
would  seem  to  have  been  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  procure  sufficient  forage  for 
their  cattle.  Another  argument  is  drawn 
by  the  writer  from  the  allegeil  identity 
of  Mount  Serbal  and  Mount  Paran, 
mentioned  in  Habakkuk.  The  valley 
or  wady  at  tlie  base  of  Mount  Serbal 
is  still  called  'Faran,'  and  as  p  and  / 
are  letters  constantly  interchanged  in 
the  oriental  tongues,  llie  inference,  he 
contends,  is  wholly  legitimate  thai  Pa- 
ran  and  Faran  indicate  the  same  local- 
ity, and  that  this  is  no  oilier  llian  Mount 


:36 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


3  And  d  Moses  went  up  unto  God, 

dch.  20.  21.     Acts  7.  38 


Serbal.  On  the  whole,  however,  we 
incline  to  adhere  to  tiie  more  established 
opinion,  which  assigns  the  region  of 
Djebel  Katerln  and  Mousa  as  the  scene 
of  the  great  event  in  question,  and  the 
following  extract  from  Prof.  Robinson's 
account  of  his  visit  to  the  spot  in  183S, 
will  go  to  lessen  very  considerably  the 
objection  founded  upon  the  limited  space 
for  encampment : — 'We  approached  the 
central  granite  mountains  of  Sinai,  not 
by  the  more  usual  and  easy  route  of 
Wady  Shekh,  which  winds  around  and 
enters  from  the  East  ;  but  Ibllowing  a 
succession  of  Wadys  we  crossed  Wady 
Shekh  and  entered  the  higher  granite 
formation  by  a  shorter  route,  directly 
from  the  N.  N.  W.  through  a  steep, 
rock}',  and  difficult  pa^s,  between  rug- 
ged, blackened  ^cliffs,  SOO  to  1000  feet 
high.  Ap})roaching  in  this  direction, 
we  were  surprised  and  delighted,  to  find 
ourselves,  after  two  hours,  crossing  the 
whole  length  of  a  fine  plain  ;  from  the 
southern  end  of  which  that  part  of  Sinai 
71016'  called  Horeb  rises  perpendicularly 
in  dark  and  frowning  majesty.  This 
plain  is  over  two  miles  in  length,  and 
nearly  two-thirds  of  a  mile  broad, 
sprinkled  with  tufts  of  herbs  and  shrubs, 
like  the  Wadys  of  the  desert.  It  is 
wholly  enclosed  by  dark  granite  moun- 
tains,— stern,  naked,  splintered  peaks 
and  ridges,  from  1000  to  1500  feet  high. 
On  the  east  of  Horeb  a  deep  and  very 
narrow  valley  runs  in  like  a  cleft,  as  if 
in  continuation  of  the  S.  E.  comer  of 
the  plain.  In  this  stands  the  convent, 
at  the  distance  of  a  mile  from  the  plain; 
and  the  deep  verdure  of  its  fruit-trees 
and  cypresses  is  seen  as  the  traveller 
approaches, — an  oasis  of  beauty  amid 
scenes  of  the  sternest  desolation.  On 
the  west  of  Horeb,  there  runs  up  a  simi- 
lar valley,  parallel  to  the  former.  It 
is  called  El-Leja,  and  in  it  stands  the 
deserted  convent  El-Erbayin,  with  a 
garden  of  olive  and  other  fruit-trees,  not 


and  the  Lord  e  called  unto  him  out 

e  ch.  3.  4. 
visible  from  the  j)lain.  The  name  Sinat 
is  at  present  applied,  generally,  to  the 
lofty  ridge  running  from  N.  N.  W.  to 
S.  S.  E.  between  the  two  narrow  valleys 
just  described.  Tlie  northern  part,  or 
lower  summit,  is  the  present  Horeb, 
overlooking  the  plain.  About  two  and 
a  half  or  three  miles  south  of  this, 
the  ridge  rises  and  ends  in  a  higher 
point ;  this  is  the  present  summit  of  Si- 
nai, the  Jebel  Musa  of  the  Arabs ; 
which  however  is  not  visible  from  any 
part  of  the  plain.  West,  or  rather 
W.  S.  W.  of  the  valley  El-Leja,  is  the 
still  higher  ridge  and  summit  of  Mount 
St.  Catharine.  The  plain  above  men- 
tioned is  in  all  probability  the  spot, 
where  the  congregation  of  Israel  were 
assembled  to  receive  the  law ;  and  the 
mountain  impending  over  it,  the  present 
Horeb,  was  the  scene  of  the  awful  phe- 
nomena in  which  the  law  was  given. 
As  to  the  present  summit  of  Sinai,  there 
is  little  reason  to  suppose  that  it  had 
any  connection  with  the  giving  of  the 
law  ;  and  still  less  the  higher  peaks  of 
St.  Catharine.  I  know  not  wlien  I  have 
felt  a  thrill  of  stronger  emotion,  than 
when  in  first  crossing  the  plain,  the 
dark  precipices  of  Horeb  rising  in  sol- 
emn grandeur  before  us,  I  became  aware 
of  the  entire  adaptedness  of  the  scene 
to  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  chosen 
by  the  great  Hebrew  legislator.'  Bib. 
Repos.for  April  1839.  As  to  the  con- 
vent which  is  here  established,  and 
which,  from  the  increasing  resort,  bids 
fair  to  become  little  more  than  a  sacred 
caravanserai,  affording  its  inmates  but 
little  of  that  holy  retirement  which  the 
location  was  intended  to  secure,  the 
reader  will  find  a  full  and  interesting 
account  in  the  work  above  mentioned, 
by  our  countryman  Mr.  Stephens,  and 
in  fact,  in  nearly  all  the  published  tours 
of  modern  travellers. 

3.   And   Moses  went    up   unto   God. 
Heb.  Q'^n^ls^n  i)fi<  el  ha-Elohim,  to  the 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


237 


of  the  mountain,  sayino^,  Thus  slialt 
thou  say  to  the  hous^e  of  Jacob,  and 
tell  the  children  of  Israel ; 
4  f  Ye  have  seen  what  I  did  unto 


f  Deut.  29.  2. 


Elohim.  That  is,  to  the  visible  symbol 
of  God's  presence,  which  had  now  doubt- 
less taken  its  station  on  the  summit  of 
the  mount.  Gr.  tii  to  np'x;  tov  dc/v,  to 
the  mount  of  God.  Chal.  'Into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Word  of  the  Lord.'  The 
more  attentively  the  sacred  narrative  is 
scanned,  the  more  clear  is  the  evidence, 
that  wherever  interviews  between  God 
and  Moses  or  other  good  men  are  men- 
tioned, there  we  are  to  understand  that 
some  visible  manifestation  of  Jehovah 
was  present,  and  that  this  visible  phe- 
nomenon is  intended  to  be  indicated  by 
the  term  'Jehovah'  or  'God.' — It  will 
be  noticed  that  the  object  of  Moses' 
ascending  the  mount  on  this  occasion 
was  simply  to  receive  and  carry  back  to 
the  people  the  message  contained  in  the 
verses  immediately  succeeding,  which 
■was  a  more  general  intimation  of  the 
terms  on  which  God  agreed  to  form  the 
Israelites  into  a  distinct  and  peculiar 

people. tr   Thus  shalt  thou  say  to  the 

house  of  Jacob,  and  tell  the  children 
of  Israel.  This  two  twofold  denomi- 
nation of  the  chosen  people  is  rather 
remarkable  and  no  doubt  was  intended 
to  carry  with  it  some  special  empha- 
sis of  meaning.  As  the  mercies  con- 
ferred upon  them  as  a  people  extend- 
ed back  into  the  history  of  the  past,  it 
was  perhaps  designed,  by  the  use  of 
these  two  names,  to  remind  them  of 
their  humble  beginnings  and  their  sub- 
sequent increase  ;  to  suggest  to  them 
that  they,  who  were  once  as  lowly  as 
Jacob  when  he  went  to  Padan-aram, 
were  now  grown  as  great  as  God  made 
him,  when  he  came  from  thence  and 
was  called  Israel.  The  mention  of  the 
twofold  appellation  of  their  ancestor, 
would  tend  also  to  excite  them  to  obedi-  ' 
ence  in  conformity  to  his  example.  I 


the  Ei^yptians,  and  how  gl  bare 
you  on  eagles'  wings,  and  brought 
you  unto  myself. 

S  Deut.  32  11.     Isai.  63.  9.    Rev,  12.  14. 

4.  Ye  have  seen,  &c.  It  is  a  direct 
appeal  to  themselves,  to  their  own  ob- 
servation and  experience,  for  the  truth 
of  what  is  here  aflirmed.  They  could 
not  disbelieve  God  without  firt-t  disbe- 
lieving   the    testimony    of   tlieir    own 

senses. IT  How  I  bare  you  on  eagles' 

wings;  i.  e.  as  on  eagles'  wings;  a 
similitude  denoting  the  speed,  the  se- 
curity, and  the  tender  care  with  which 
they  were,  as  it  were,  transjiorted  from 
the  house  of  bondage,  and  wliich  is  ex- 
panded in  fuller  significancy,  Deut.  32, 
11, 12,  'As  an  eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest, 
fluttereth  over  her  young,  spreadeth 
abroad  her  wings,  taketh  them,  beareth 
them  on  her  wings  ;  so  the  Lord  alone 
did  lead  him.'  In  like  manner,  as  the 
church  of  Israel  here  fled  from  the 
dragon  Pharaoh,  as  he  is  termed,  Ezek. 
29.  3,  so  the  Christian  church  in  a  lime 
of  persecution  is  represented.  Rev.  12. 
14,  as  flying  into  the  wilderness  from 
the  serpent  or  dragon,  with  two  wings 
of  a  great  eagle.  Wings  in  this  accep- 
tation are  a  symbol  of  protection.  The 
idea  of  this  passage  is  strikingly  set 
forth  by  the  prophet  at  a  long  subse- 
quent period,  Is.  63.  9.  'In  all  their  af- 
fliction he  was  afllicled,  and  the  angel 
of  his  presence  saved  them :  in  his  love 
and  in  his  pity  he  redeemed  them;  and 
he  bare  them,  and  carried  them  all  llie 

days  of  old.' IT  Brought  you  unto 

myself.  Delivered  you  from  the  cruel 
bondage  of  Egypt,  and  graciously  re- 
ceived you  into  a  covcnatil  relation  to 
myself  and  the  enjoyment  of  my  special 
tutelary  favor.  This  is  tlie  ultimate  aim 
of  all  the  gracious  methods  of  God's 
providence  and  grace,  to  bring  us  back 
to  himself,  to  reinstate  us  in  his  lost 
favor,  to  restore  us  to  that  relation  in 
which  alone  we  can  be  happy.    Christ 


238 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


5  Now  h  therefore,  if  ye  will  obey 
my  voice  indeed,  and  keep  my  co- 


hDeut.  5.  2. 


has  died,  '  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that 
he  might  bring  tis  to  God.' 

5.  Now  therefore  if  ye  will  obey,  &c. 
Having  briefly  recounted  the  grounds  of 
their  obligation  to  him,  the  Most  High 
now  proceeds  to  state  plainly  the  re- 
turns he  should  expect  and  require  from 
them.  This  was  in  one  word  obedience 
— cordial,  sincere,  and  unreserved  obedi- 
ence to  the  will  of  their  best  friend  and 
kindest  benefactor,  who  could  have  no- 
thing in  view  but  their  happiness.  This 
he  demanded  of  them.  On  his  own  part, 
he  promises  a  profusion  of  blessings, 
temporal,  spiritual,  and  everlasting,  of 
which  the  crown  of  all  is  that  they 
should  be  an  appropriation  to  himself. 
They  should  enjoy  a  rank  of  higher 
honor  and  tenderer  endearment  in  his  re- 
gard than  any  other  people — a  declara- 
tion, the  scope  of  which  will  be  more 
apparent  from  a  closer  inspection  of  the 

import  of  the  particular  terms. IT  A 

peculiar  treasure.  Heb.  ilb^D  segul- 
lah,  a  word  of  which  we  do  not  find 
the  verbal  root  '^:^D  sagal  in  Hebrew, 
but  in  Chaldoe  it  signifies  to  gain,  to  ac- 
quire to  one^s  self,  to  make  one's  own,  to 
appropriate.  Wherever  the  noun  oc- 
curs in  Hebrew  it  denotes  a  pcculium, 
a  possession  or  treasure  of  which  the 
owner  is  peculiarly  choice,  one  on  which 
his  heart  is  set,  and  which  he  neither 
shares  with  others  nor  resigns  to  the 
care  of  others.  It  has  an  obvious  rela- 
tion to  the  Latin  word  sigillum,  seal, 
and  is  especially  applied  to  such  choice 
possessions  as  were  secured  with  a  seal, 
as  gold,  silver,  jewels,  precious  stones, 
&c.  Thus,  1  Chron.  29.  3,  'Because  1 
have  set  my  affection  to  the  house  of 
my  God,  I  have  of  mine  own  proper 
good  (Heb.  of  my  H^^O  segullah),  of 
gold  and  silver,  which  I  have  given,' 
&c     Thus  too,  Mai.  3.  17,  'And  they 


venant,  then  i  ye  shall  be  a  peculiar 

i  Dent.  4.  20.  &  7.  6.  &  14.  2,  21.  &  26.  18.  & 
32.  8,  9.  1  Kings  8.  53.  Ps.  135.  4.  Cant.  8.  12. 
Lsai.  41.  8.  &  43.  1.  Jer.  10.  16.  Mai.  3.  17. 
Tit.  2.  14. 

shall  be  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
in  that  day  when  I  make  up  my  jewels.' 
(Heb.  my  ,1^30  segullah).'  Eccl.  2. 
8,  'I  gathered  me  also  silver  and  gold 
and  the  peculiar  treasure  (n)D3D)  of 
kings  and  of  the  provinces.'  'By  \l!p^'0 
segullah,'  say  the  Hebrew  commenta- 
tors, '  is  signified,  that  they  should  be 
beloved  before  him,  as  a  desirable  treas- 
ure which  a  king  delivereth  not  into  the 
hand  of  any  of  his  officers,  but  keepeth 
it  himself.  And  such  is  the  case  of  Is- 
rael, of  whom  it  is  said,  Deut.  32.  9, 
'For  the  Lord's  portion  is  his  people.' 
Thus  too,  Deut.  7.  6,  'Thou  art  an  holy 
people  unto  the  Lord  thy  God  ;  the  Lord 
thy  God  hath  chosen  thee  to  be  a  special 
people  (n^nO)  unto  himself,  above  all 
people  that  are  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth.'  Ps.  135.  4,  'For  the  Lord  hath 
chosen  Jacob  unto  himself,  and  Israel 
for  his  peculiar  treasure  (in^^O^  lis- 
gulatho).'  In  these  cases  the  Greek 
rendering  is  mostly  nepiovaif-i,  peculiar 
precious,  which  occurs  Tit.  2.  14,  'That 
he  might  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar 
people  (Xaog  T:eptovcnoi).  zealous  of  good 
works.'  But  in  1  Peter,  2.  9,  the  phrase- 
ology is  a  little  varied,  'But  ye  are  a 
chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood, 
an  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people  (Xaog 
£ti  ■KCfinroirimi'),'  which  is  the  Septua- 
gint  rendering  of  the  word  'jewels,' 
Mai.  3.  17.  Throughout,  the  leading 
sense  is  that  of  select,  precious,  endear- 
ed^ something  exceedingly  prized  and 
sedulously  preserved;  and  it  would  seem 
as  if  God  would  represent  all  the  rest  of 
the  world  as  comparatively  worthless 
lumber  when  viewed  by  the  side  of  the 
chosen  race.  Chal.  'Ye  shall  be  beloved 

before  me.' IT  For  all  the  earth  is 

mine.  Or,  '  though  all  the  earth  is 
mine.'  The  sense,  however,  is  essen- 
tially the  same  by  either  mode  of  rend- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


239 


treasure  unto  me  above  all  people  : 
fur  k  all  the  earth  is  mine  : 

6  And  ye  shall  be  unto  me  a  •  king- 
dom of  priests,  and  an  «"  holy  na- 

fcch.f).29  Ueut.  10.  14.  Job.  41.  11.  P.s.  24. 
1.  &  50.  12.  1  Cor.  10.  2(5,  2s.  1  Deut.  33.  2,  3, 
4.  1  Pet.  2.  5,  9.  Rev.  1.  C.  &  5.  10.  &  20.6. 
m  Lev.  29.  24,  26.  Deut.  7.  6.  &  26.  19.  & 
28.  9.  Isai.  62.  12.  1  Cor.  3.  17.  1  Thess.  5. 27. 


ering.  It  was  intended  to  enhance,  in 
their  estimate,  the  greatness  of  the  di- 
vine favor  in  making  them  the  objects 
of  such  a  selection.  Being  the  sovereign 
and  proprietor  of  the  whole  world,  and 
the  fulness  thereof,  he  needed  them  not ; 
nor  if  he  saw  good  to  select  any  people 
was  he  under  the  least  obligation,  out 
of  himself,  to  fix  upon  them.  He  might 
have  taken  any  other  nation  in  prefer- 
ence to  them.  The  parallelism,  Deut. 
7.  7,  S,  fully  confirms  this  sense  of  the 
passage  ;  ^The  Lord  did  not  set  his  love 
upon  you,  nor  choose  you,  because  ye 
were  more  in  number  than  any  people  ; 
for  ye  were  the  fewest  of  all  people  : 
But  because  the  Lord  loved  you,  and 
because  he  would  keep  the  oath  which 
he  had  sworn  unto  your  fathers,  hath 
the  Lord  brought  you  out  with  a  mighty 
hand,  and  redeemed  you  out  of  the  house 
of  bond-men,  from  the  hand  of  Pharaoh 
fcing  of  Egypt.' 

6.  A  kingdom  of  priests.  Heb.r:^^72>2 
t2"^]ni  mamlcketh  kohanim;  which  the 
Gr.  renders  by  an  inverse  construction 
$aiji\£iov   ieoarcu.m^  a  royal  priesthood, 
the  phraseology  adopted  by  the  apostle, 
1  Pet.  2.  9.   Chal.  'Ye  shall  be  before  me 
kings,  priests,  and  an  holy  people.'  The 
true  sense  of  the  expression  is  perhaps  j 
most  adequately  given  Rev.  5.  10,  where  j 
in  allusion  to   the  passage,  it  is  said,  I 
'Thou  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  i 
and  priests;  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  ' 
earth.'     They  were  in  fact  to  combine 
in  their  own  persons  the  royal  and  the 
sacerdotal  dignity,  which  is  figuratively  ' 
set  forth  in  the  Apoculyjjtic  scenery  by 
the  elders  being  clothed  in  white  robes, 
which  was  a  badge  of  the  priesthood, 


tion.  These  are  the  words  which 
thou  shah  speak  unto  the  children 
of  Israel. 

7  H  And  Moses  came  and  called 
for  the  elders  of  the  people,  and 
laid  before  their  faces  all  these 
words  which  the  Lord  command- 
ed him. 

and  at  the  .same  time  having  crowns 
upon  their  heads,  which  was  an  emblem 
of  royalty.  It  would  be  impossible 
therefore  to  use  language  conveying  the 
promise  of  higher  honor,  of  more  dis- 
tinguished prerogatives,  than  this.  As 
the  priestly  order  was  set  apart  from 
the  common  mass  of  the  people,  and 
exclusively  authorised  to  minister  in 
holy  things,  so  all  the  Israelites,  com- 
pared with  other  nations,  were  to  sus- 
tain this  near  relation  to  God.  They 
were  to  be,  as  it  were, '  the  first-born 
from  among  men,'  consecrated  to  God 
from  the  womb,  like  the  first-born  of 
their  own  families.  And  when  we  add 
to  this  that  they  were  all  to  be  regarded 
at  the  same  time  as  kings  also,  and 
none  as  subjects,  a  commonwealth  of 
spiritual  sovereigns,  what  can  be  con- 
ceived more  exalted  and  honorary  ?  Yet 
such  is  undoubtedly  the  import  of  the 
words,  which  is  but  little  heightened 
by  the  subsequent  phrase,  '  an  holy  na- 
tion ;'  i.  e.  a  nation  hallowed,  set  apart, 
consecrated. 

7.  Moses  came  and  called  for  the  eld' 
ers,  &c.  In  so  immense  an  assembly 
of  people  it  would  be  necessary  for  Mo- 
ses to  '.reat  with  them  through  the  me- 
dium  of  their  elders,  or  the  principal 
men  in  the  several  tribes.  Having  con- 
vened them  for  the  purpose,  he  '  laid 
before  their  faces,'  the  message  he  had 
received  from  (iod,  by  which  is  meant 
that  he  fully  explained  to  them  what 
God  had  given  him  in  charge,  and  sub- 
mitted it  to  their  serious  judgment  whe- 
tlier  tliey  would  comj)ly  with  the  pre- 
scribed  terms.  The  elders  of  course 
propounded  the  words  to  the  people. 


240 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


S  And  n  all  the  people  answered 
together,  and  said,  All  that  the 
Lord  hath  spoken  we  will  do.  And 
Moses  returned  the  words  of  the 
people  unto  the  Lord. 

9  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 

n  ch.  24.  3,  7.     Deut.  5.  27.  &  20.  17. 


8.  And  all  the  people  answered  to- 
gether. Heb.  "nn"'  ID^J"^  yaanu  yah- 
dav.  Gr.  ancKotOri  (>nodvua6'i',  answered 
with  one  accord,  as  the  term  oifiBviiii6)p 
is  also  rendered  Acts,  2.  1,  and  often 
elsewhere,  implying  rather  unanimity 
of  counsel  than  simnltaneousness  of  act. 
It  is  of  course  to  be  supposed  that  the 
elders  made  known  the  conditions  to 
the  people  whom  they  represented,  and 
that  they  unanimously  signified  their 
acceptance  of  them,  which  was  again 
reported  by  Moses  through  their  official 
heads.  Their  answer  discovers  indeed 
a  commendable  promptitude  in  acced- 
ing to  the  terms  and  availing  themselves 
of  the  proffered  blessings,  but  the  sequel 
shows  that  their  response  was  given  in 
a  spirit  of  overweening  self-confidence. 
They  knew  comparatively  little  of  their 
own  spirits,  and  rushed  precipitately 
into  the  assumption  of  obligations,  of 
the  full  import  of  which  they  had  but 
little  idea.  Their  conduct  strikingly 
illustrates  that  of  the  convinced  sinner, 
who  feels  the  pressure  of  the  divine 
claims  upon  his  conscience,  and  fondly 
imagines  that  he  shall  have  no  difficulty 
in  keeping  the  whole  law.  But  experi- 
ence soon  shows  him  his  error,  as  it  did 
the  Israelites. 

9.  Lo,  I  come  unto  thee  in  a  thick 
cloud.  Heb.  "pj'fi  '2'V'2  bcab  hianan,  in 
the  thickness,  or  density,  of  the  cloud. 
Gr.  fi;  oTv'Xio  vcbc'Sni,  in  the  pillar  of 
the  cloud.  We  know  that  God  ordi- 
narily resided  among  his  people  and 
presided  over  them  in  the  cloudy  pillar.  ! 
But  as  this  pillar  changed  its  aspect  to  ' 
a  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  so  we  can  easily  ' 


Lo,  I  come  unto  thee  »  in  a  thick 
cloud,  p  that  the  people  may  hear 
when  I  speak  with  thee,  and  q  b^ 
lieve  thee  forever.  And  Moses  told 
the  words  of  the  people  unto  the 
Lord. 

o  ver.  16.  ch.  20.  21.  &  24.  15,  16.  Deut.  4. 
11.  Ps.  lb.  11,  12.  &  97.  2.  Matt.  17.  5. 
P  Deut.  4,  12,  36.  John  12.  29,  30.  q  ch.  14.  31. 


imagine  it  to  have  assumed  a  denser 
and  darker  appearance  on  this  occasion. 
As  it  was  to  be  accompanied  with  light- 
nings and  thunders,  the  wliole  scene 
would  be  rendered  more  sublime  and 
awful  by  the  increased  darkness  and 
density  of  that  vast  mass  of  cloud,  tow- 
ering above  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tain, which  was  to  be  the  ground  of 
these  fearful  phenomena.  Our  concep- 
tions on  this  subject  will  be  heightened 
by  referring  to  the  parallel  language  of 
the  Psalmist,  Ps.  IS.  11,  4Ie  made  dark- 
ness  his  secret  place  ;  his  pavilion  round 
about  him  were  dark  waters  and  thick 
clouds  of  the  skies  ;'  i.  e.  not  literally 
waters  in  their  elementary  state,  but 
such  thick  dark  lowering  clouds  as  are 
generally  charged  with  water,  and  emp. 
ly  themselves  in  gushing  torrents  of 
rain  ;  in  allusion  to  which  it  is  said, 
Job.  26.  S,  'He  bindeth  up  the  waters  in 
his  thick  clouds,  and  the  cloud  is  not 
rent  under  them.'  There  was  perhaps 
some  reference  in  this  mode  of  mani- 
festation to  the  comparatively  dark  and 
obscure  genius  of  the  iNIosaic  dispensa- 
tion. Of  the  ancient  versions  tlie  Arab, 
renders  this  passage,  '  I  will  manifest 
my  Angel  unto  them  in  the  thickness  of 
clouds  ;'  and  the  Jerus.  Targ.  'My  Word 
shall  be  revealed  unto  thee  in  the  thick 

cloud.' IT  That  the  people  may  hear 

when  I  speak  with  thee,  &c.  This  dis- 
closes one  grand  purpose  to  be  accom- 
plished by  such  an  impressive  mode  of 
manifestation.  The  highest  possible 
honor,  and  credence,  and  deference  was 
to  be  secured  to  the  person  of  Moses, 
in  order  that  the  laws  and  ordinances 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


241 


10  H  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo- 
ses, Go  unto  the  people,  and  «•  sanc- 
tify them  to-day  and  to-morrow, 
and  let  them  »  wash  their  clothes, 

T  Lev.  11.  44,  45.  Hebr.  10.  22.  >  ver.  14. 
Gen.  35.  2.    Lev.  15.  5. 

which  he  was  to  introduce  among  the 
people  in  the  name  of  God  might  be 
clothed  with  due  autliority.  The  gran- 
deur and  solemnity  of  the  scene  in 
which  their  leader  was  to  act  such  a 
conspicuous  part  would  eminently  tend 
to  produce  this  eflect.  And  their  hear- 
ing with  their  own  ears  the  voice  of  God 
speaking  to  his  servant,  would  utterly 
cut  off  all  future  pretext  for  saying  that 
Moses  palmed  upon  them  a  system  of 
laws  and  statutes  of  his  own  devising, 
or  imposed  upon  their  credulity  in  any 
way  whatever.  In  affirming  this  they 
would  be  witnesses  against  themselves. 
They  had  an  ocular  demonstration  that 
the  laws  to  which  they  were  required  to 
submit,  were  promulgated  from  the  high- 
est authority  in  the  universe,  of  which 
Moses  was  merely  the  ministering  me- 
diator. It  was  not,  however,  merely 
from  the  men  of  that  generation  that 
God  would  exact  this  profound  dei'er- 
ence  to  the  official  character  of  Moses, 
but  it  was  to  be  perpetuated  in  the  line 
of  their  posterity  to  the  latest  days — 
'  that  they  may  believe  thee  for  ever,' 
not  only  as  long  as  they  live,  but  as 
long  as  their  descendants  shall  live. 
Accordingly  our  Savior  himself  recog- 
nises his  authority,  when  he  says  in  the 
parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus, 
'They  have  Moses  and  the  prophets,  let 
them  hear  them,'  and  '  if  they  believe 
not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will 
they  believe,  though  one  ro^e  from  the 
dead.' 

10.  Go  unto  the  people  and  sanctify 
them,  &c.  That  is,  command  and  see 
that  they  sanctify  themselves,  as  ap- 
pears from  the  next  clause,  and  from 
V.  14.  In  like  manner  it  is  said  tliat 
Job  (ch.  1.5.)  '  Sent  and  sanctihed  his 

Vol.  I  21 


11  And  be  ready  against  the  tliird 
day  :  for  the  tiiird  day  the  Lohd 
'  will  come  down  in  the  sight  of  all 
the  people  upon  mount  Sinai. 

t  ver.  16,  18.  cli.  34.  5.    Deut.  33.  2. 


sons ;'  i.  e.  ordered  them  to  sanctify 
themselves ;  the  agent,  according  to 
Scripture  usage,  being  said  to  do  that 
which  he  orders  or  procures  to  be  done. 
We  see  at  once  the  propriety  of  their 
being  fitted  by  a  special  prejjaration  for 
such  a  solemn  interview  with  the  Most 
High  as  now  awaited  them.  When  but 
a  friend  or  neighbor  is  expected  some- 
what formally  to  visit  us,  the  natural 
sentiment  of  decorum  requires  that  our 
persons,  our  liouses,  our  entertainment, 
should  be  invested  with  an  air  of  more 
than  usual  neatness,  order,  and  style. 
How  much  more,  when  the  visiter  is  to 
be  no  other  than  the  King  of  Kings 
himself!  They  were  about  to  approach 
a  holy  God,  a  God  of  infinite  purity, 
who  cannot  bear  any  unclean  tiling  in 
his  presence,  and  therefore  they  were 
to  take  care  that  no  defilement  was  upon 
them.  They  were  to  wash  their  clothes 
and  preserve  their  persons  free  from  all 
impurity.  They  were  even  to  abstain  (v. 
15)  from  all  such  innocent  and  lawful 
gratifications  as  might  be  unfavorable 
to  the  utmost  degree  of  spirituality  and 
abstractedness  of  soul  in  the  exercises 
before  them.  Not  that  there  was  any 
intrinsic  virtue  in  mere  external  ablu- 
tions and  abstinences  ;  they  were  to  do 
this  in  token  of  their  cleansing  them- 
selves from  all  sinful  pollutions.  While 
they  were  washing  their  clothes  they 
were  to  think  of  washing  their  souls  by 
repentance  from  the  sins  which  they 
had  contracted.  Comp.  Gen.  35.  2.  Lev. 
15.5. 

11.  The  third  day  the  Lord  will  come 

down,  &c.     That  is,  will  come  down  in 

the  cloudy  and  fiery  ])illar,  tlie  symbol 

of  his  presence,  the  visible  Slickinah  ; 

I  another  of  the  innumerable  instances  in 


242 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


12  And  thou  shall  set  bounds  unto 
the  people  round  about,  saying, 
Take  heed  to  yourselves,  that  ye  go 
7wt  up  into  the  mount,  or  touch  the 
border  of  it:  "whosoever  toucheth 
the  mount  shall  be  surely  put  to 
death : 

u  Hebr.  12.  20. 

which  'Lord'  is  used  interchangeably 
with  the  term  denoting  his  visible  repre- 
sentative. His  descent  was  to  be  in 
sight  of  all  the  people.  We  infer  from 
this  that  the  cloudy  pillar  rose  to  a 
great  height  in  the  heavens,  for  we  be- 
lieve there  is  no  one  of  the  several  peaks 
of  the  Sinai  group  of  mountains  that 
could  be  seen  from  all  the  points  where 
a  body  of  two  millions  of  men  must 
have  been  encamped.  Consequently, 
the  pillar  that  surmounted  the  summit 
must  have  been  very  lofty. 

12.  Thou  Shalt  set  bounds,  &c.  Not- 
withstanding all  the  grandeurs  and  ter- 
rors of  the  scene,  it  was  on  the  whole 
an  illustriouL  instance  of  God's  grace 
and  condescension  that  he  was  pleased 
to  vouchsafe  to  them  such  a  signal  dis- 
play of  himself  on  this  occasion.  Yet 
he  would  have  them  reminded  of  the 
humble  awful  reverence  which  should 
possess  the  minds  of  all  those  that  wor- 
ship him.  Every  semblance  of  unhal- 
lowed freedom  and  familiarity  was  to 
be  studiously  repressed.  While  Jeho- 
vah makes  himself  known  as  a  Father, 
a  Protector,  a  Guide,  a  Portion,  he  still 
would  have  his  servants  remember  that 
he  is  'the  great  and  terrible  God.'  He 
therefore  requires  that  they  should  wor- 
ship him  at  a  respectful  and  reverential 
distance,  as  being  really  unworthy  even 
to  lift  up  their  eyes  to  the  place  which 

his  footsteps  were  to  make  glorious. 

IT  That  ye  go  not  vp  into  the  mount. 
Heb.  ^ni  bahar,  in  or  upon  the  mount. 
It  is  important,  if  possible,  to  ascertain 
the  exact  idea,  as  otherwise  it  will  be 
difficult  to  determine  what  is  meant  by 
the  permission  in  the  ne.xt  verse,  'when 


1.3  There  shall  not  a  hand  touch 
it,  but  he  shall  surely  be  stoned  or 
shot  through :  whether  it  be  beast 
or  man,  it  shall  not  live  :  when  the 
X  trumpet  soundeth  long,  they  shall 
come  up  to  the  mount. 


the  trumpet  soundeth  long,  they  shall 
come  up  to  the  mount,'  where  the  phra- 
seology in  the  original  is  precisely  the 
same,  ""inD  bahar,  in  or  upon  the  mount. 
It  undoubtedly  signifies  something  more 
than  merely  approaching  the  base  of 
the  mountain,  its  'border'  or  extreme 
foot,  and  conveys  the  idea  of  some  de- 
gree of  ascent  or  climbing  towards  the 
summit. 

13.  There  shall  not  an  hand  touch  it. 
Heb.  11  in  y^ri  i<ii  lo  tigga  bo  yad,  there 
shall  not  an  hand  touch  him.  Our  pres- 
ent translation  evidently  understands 
the  '  mountain'  as  the  object  not  to  be 
touched  with  the  hand.  But  that  is  for- 
bidden in  the  clause  immediately  pre- 
ceding, and  here  the  true  sense  is  doubt- 
less that  which  is  yielded  by  a  literal 
rendering  of  the  original.  If  a  man  or 
a  beast  should  break  through  the  pre- 
scribed limits  and  advance  towards  the 
mountain,  they  were  not  to  rush  in  after 
him,  apprehend  him,  and  thrust  him 
back,  but  on  the  contrary  were  to  slay 
him  on  the  spot  by  casting  stones  or 
shooting  darts  at  him  from  a  distance. 
Such  a  bold  intruder  upon  forbidden 
ground,  such  a  daring  transgressor  of 
an  express  divine  precept,  was  to  be  re- 
garded as  so  profane,  execrable,  and 
abominable,  that  they  were  not  permit- 
ted  to  pollute  their  hands  by  touching 
him.  What  a  speaking  commentary 
upon  God's  estimate  of  presumptuous 

sin! IT   When  the  trumpet  soundeth 

long  they  shall  come  up,  &c,  Heb.  "^TDiS 
^D'TI  bi7nshok  ha-yobel,  in  the  drawing 
out  of  the  trumpet;  i.  e.  of  the  sound  of 
tlie  trumpet.  On  the  true  import  of  the 
word  ^D"^  yob'el  here  rendered  'trumpet,' 


B.  C.  1491. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


243 


see  Note  on  Josh.  6.  4,  5.  It  is  the 
word  apj^icd  to  the  sounding  of  the 
trumpet  oi'  jubilee,  a  term  derived  in 
fact  from  this  very  root,  and  supposed 
to  denote  an  inslrumeut  either  made  of 
ram's  horns,  or  constructed  in  that  form. 
It  was  blown  as  a  signal  for  the  camp 
or  congregation  to  assemble,  or  to  do 
something  in  concert.  Throughout  the 
rest  of  the  context  the  word  for  '  trum- 
pet' is  entirely  different,  viz.,  "|5UJ  sho- 
phar,  for  which  reason  some  critics  have 
supposed  that  the  phrase  in  this  place 
denotes  a  signal  given  by  order  of  Mo- 
ses in  the  camp  for  the  approach  of  the 
people  to  the  base  of  the  mount,  where- 
as in  the  sequel  the  sound  of  the  15II3 
shophar  was  among  the  supernatural 
sounds  and  sights  that  distinguished 
the  august  occasion.  This  however  is 
an  interpretation  which  cannot  well  be 
reconciled  with  the  context.  Again, 
there  is  great  uncertainty  as  to  what  is 
precisely  to  be  understood  by  the  sound 
of  the  trumpet's  being  drawn  out  or 
prolonged;  whether  it  signifies  a  grow- 
ing intensity,  or  a  remission,  softening, 
dying  away,  of  the  sound.  The  Gr.  gives 
the  latter  sense,  'When  the  voices,  and 
the  trumpets,  and  the  cloud  are  departed 
from  the  mountain,  then  shall  ye  go  up.' 
Thus  too  the  Syriac,  'When  the  trumpet 
shall  have  become  silent,  then  it  shall 
be  permitted  to  j'^ou  to  go  up.'  So  also 
the  Chal.  according  to  Fagius'  version  ; 
'When  the  trumpet  shall  be  withdrawn, 
then  shall  they  have  leave  to  go  up.' 
But  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  this  is 
correctly  rendered.  The  original  13'i?3D 
i^*lBTI3  be-migad  shophara  signifies  ac- 
cording to  Cartwright,  Cum  protracta 
fuerit  bucciua,  when  the  (sound  of  the) 
trumpet  shall  have  been  prolonged;  and 
thus  substantially  agrees  with  the  He- 
brew, the  root  "32  negad  answering  pre- 
cisely to  "|'1"?2  mashak,  and  botli  signi- 
fying to  draiv  out,  extend,  prolong. 
The  Vulg.  on  the  other  hand  adopts  the 
former.  Cum  co?perit  clangere  buccina, 
when  the  trumpet  shall  begin  to  sound. 


A  comparison  of  tlie  present  passage 
with  Josh.  6.  4,  5,  seems  rather  to  con- 
firm the  first  of  these  as  the  genuine 
sense.  Then  the  Israelites  were  com- 
manded to  compass  the  walls  of  Jericho 
for  six  days  in  succession,  the  priests 
continually  blowing  the  rams'  horns, 
and  on  the  seventh  '  when  they  make 
along  blast  with  the  ram's  horn  (Ileb. 
bH'Tl  "^^p^  TiTTDD  bimshok  be-keren 
ha-yobel,  in  the  drainng  out  (of  the 
sound  made)  by  the  horn  of  the  ram, 
&c. — all  the  people  shall  shout.'  By 
this  is  probably  implied  that  when  the 
sounding  shall  have  been  long  continued, 
after  they  shall  have  heard  it  from  day 
to  day  for  six  days,  and  through  nearly 
the  whole  day  on  the  seventh,  then  at 
the  completion  of  the  last  circuit  they 
should  shout,  and  the  walls  would  fall 
down.  So  here  we  are  probably  to  un- 
derstand that  when  the  signal  blast  ot 
the  trumpet  had  been  for  a  considerable 
time  continued,  they  were  to  '  come  up 
to  the  mount.'  But  this  latter  clause  is 
if  any  thing  still  more  difficult  of  ex- 
plication than  the  preceding.  Does  it 
mean  the  removal  of  the  foregoing  re- 
striction ?  It  would  seem  that  our  trans- 
lators supposed  it  did  not,  but  implied 
rather  that  at  the  given  signal  the  peo- 
ple were  to  approach  to  or  towards  the 
mount  as  far  as  the  prescribed  limits 
would  permit.  But  this  view  of  the 
matter  is  not  favored  by  the  original, 
which  has  IHi  l^y^  yaalu  bahar,  come 
up  in,  into,  or  upon  the  mount.  The 
phrase  is  most  evidently  directly  the  re- 
verse of  the  prohibition  in  v.  12,  'Take 
heed  to  yourselves  that  ye  go  not  up 
into  the  mount  (Heb,  mb3>  D-^l  1'1?3"i;n 
*^T\2  hishshameru  lakem  aloth  bahar, 
bewure  for  yourselves  of  going  up  in, 
into,  or  upon  the  mount.'  Such  is  the 
literal  rendering  of  the  two  clauses, 
and  how  are  they  to  be  reconciled  ?  As 
read  in  the  letter  they  show  a  plain  dis- 
crepancy, the  one  permitting  what  the 
other  forbids.  Some  have  pro])osed  to 
surmount  the  difficulty  by  understand- 


244 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


14  1[  And  Moses  -went  down  from 
the  mount  unto  the  people,  and 
y  sanctiiied  the  people  ;  and  they 
washed  their  clothes. 

15  And  he  said  unto  the  people, 
z  Be  ready  against  the  third  day : 
a  come  not  at  your  wives. 

y  ver.  10.  ^^  ver.  11.  »  1  Sam.  21.  4,  5.  Zech. 
7.  3.     1  tor.  7.  5. 


ing  the  clause  as  an  ironical  concession; 
as  if  God  liad  intended  to  intimate  that 
before  the  trumpet  blast  was  heard  they 
should  be  strictly  charged  not  to  over- 
pass the  boundaries,  but  that  after  that 
time,  and  when  the  sound  began  to  wax 
louder  and  louder,  then  they  might 
ascend  if  they  pleased,  if  they  dared; 
for  then  the  terrors  of  the  scene  would 
be  of  themselves  so  tremendous  and  re- 
pulsive, that  there  would  be  no  special 
need  of  any  express  veto  to  forbid  a 
nearer  approach.  But  such  a  sense 
seems  hardly  consistent  with  the  so- 
lemnity of  the  scene,  and  we  are  con- 
strained on  the  whole  to  yield  our  assent 
to  the  import  affixed  to  the  words  by  the 
old  versions,  viz.,  that  the  limitation  was 
to  be  annulled  and  the  mountain  freely 
ascended  when  the  blast  of  the  trump- 
et and  the  other  supernatural  sounds 
had  been  so  long  draum  out  and  pro- 
tracted as  to  have  become  scarcely  aud- 
ible, and  to  be  dying  away  upon  the  ear. 
In  other  words  we  think  that  the  Sept. 
rendering,  though  paraphrastic,  gives 
the  true  sense;  'When  the  voices,  and 
the  trumpets,  and  the  cloud,  arc  departed 
from  the  mountain,  then  shall  ye  go 
up.'  As  they  were  to  remain  encamped 
for  a  year  at  the  base  of  the  mountain 
it  might  be  important  for  them  to  be 
assured  of  the  divine  permission  to 
ascend  from  time  to  time  to  its  top, 
and  devoutly  contemplate  a  spot  recent- 
ly hallowed  by  the  footsteps  of  the  glory 
of  Jehovah. 

16.  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  third 
day,  &c.     The  eventful  day  at  length 


16  H  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the 
third  day  in  the  morning,  that  there 
were  ^  thunders  and  lightnings,  and 
a  c  thick  cloud  upon  the  mount,  and 
the  ti  voice  of  the  trumpet  exceed- 
ing loud ;  so  that  all  the  people  that 
was  in  the  camp  «  trembled. 

b  Ps.  77.  18.  Hebr.  12.  18,  19.  Rev.  4.  5.  & 
8.  5.  &  11.  19.  c  ver.  9.  cli.  40.  .34.  2  Chron. 
5.  14.  d  Rev.  1.  10.  &  4.  1.    e  Hebr.  12.  21. 


and  the  fiftieth  after  the  departure  from 
Egypt.  The  morning  was  ushered  in 
with  terrible  thunders  and  lightnings, 
and  a  cloud  of  deep  lowering  darkness 
resting  upon  the  summit  of  the  mount. 
The  heavens  and  the  earth  and  the  ele- 
ments conspired  to  signalize,  in  the 
most  impressive  manner,  the  advent  of 
the  Creator  and  Lord  of  the  universe  to 
this  part  of  his  dominions.  Nearly 
every  object  of  grandeur  and  awe  of 
which  v^•e  can  conceive,  enters  into  the 
description.  Thunder,  lightning,  tem- 
pest, the  blackness  of  darkness,  smoke, 
fire,  earthquake,  and  the  trumpet  of 
God !  Never,  in  all  probability,  till  the 
light  of  the  last  morning  shall  dawn, 
and  the  trump  of  the  archangel  shall 
peal  its  summons  to  arouse  the  dead, 
will  such  a  spectacle  be  again  witnessed 
on  earth.  We  have  only  to  reflect  upon 
the  design  of  this  august  visitation  to 
be  satisfied  that  such  an  apparatus  of 
awful  accompaniments  was  in  the  high- 
est degree  appropriate  and  seasonable. 
A  deep  moral  impression  in  regard  to 
the  law  about  to  be  delivered  was  to  be 
produced.  Every  thing  accordingly  was 
so  ordered  as  to  afford  the  most  strik- 
ing display  of  the  glorious  majesty  of 
the  Lawgiver,  to  point  out  the  character 
of  the  law  in  its  strictness  and  rigor, 
and  its  tremendous  penalty,  and  withal 
to  furnish  a  preintimation  of  the  day  of 
judgment,  when  every  transgression  of 
it  will  come  into  account.  He  who  has 
made  us,  and  who  perfectly  knows  our 
frame,  knows  how  best  to  suit  his  dis- 
pensations to  our  condition.  It  is  no 
matter  of  surprise,  therefore,  that  He 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


245 


who  has  an  unlimited  control  over  all 
the  inlets  to  our  sentient  spirits  should 
see  fit,  when  the  occasion  warrants,  to 
make  the  senses  an  avenue  to  the  mind, 
and  to  seize  the  conscience  or  overawe 
the  heart  by  speaking  to  the  eyes  or  the 
ears,  or  to  both  at  once.  Such  was  his 
good  pleasure  on  the  delivery  of  the  law 
from  Sinai ;  and  it  is  a  consideration 
full  of  solemn  import,  that  if  God  was 
truly  awful  in  the  harmless  unconsum- 
ing  fire  at  the  bush  of  Horeb,  and  in  the 
guiding  and  protecting  pillar  of  cloud  ; 
if  he  was  dreadful  at  Sinai,  coming  in 
fierce  and  threatening  flames  to  promul- 
gate liis  law  ;  what  must  he  be  '  coming 
in  flaming  fire  to  take  vengeance  on 
them  that  know  not  God,  and  obey  not 
the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ !" 
If  the  sound  of  that  trumpet  which  pro- 
claimed the  approach  of  God  to  Israel 
was  almost  sufficient  to  kill  the  living 
with  fear ;  what  must  be  the  trumpet 
which  shall  awake  the  dead  ?  Whatever 
majesty  and  solemnity  distinguished  the 
giving  of  the  Law,  the  whole  earth  shall 
eventually  behold  it  exceeded  in  the  con- 
summation of  the  gospel. IT  In  the 

morning.  Heb.  ^pl^n  Ti'^n^  bihyoth 
habboker,  in  the  being  made  to  be  of  the 
morning-  implying  something  peculiar 
and  extraordinary  in  the  atmospherical 
phenomena  that  ushered  in  that  mem- 
orable morn.  The  usual  phrase  for  '  in 
the  morning'  is  "iplH  babboker,  and  if 
nothing  more  than  that  simple  idea  was 
meant,  it  is  not  easy  to  account  for  the 

present  unusual  phraseology. IT  And 

there  irere  voices  and  lightnings,  &c. 
Heb.  nip  ^n"^1  va-yehi  koloth.  Thun- 
ders are  undoubtedly  meant,  a  sense 
frequently  conveyed  by  the  Heb.  w^ord 
'  voice,'  in  proof  of  which  see  Note  on 
Gen.  3.  8.  The  gloomy  mass  of  cloud  was 
unquestionably  the  seat  of  the  thunders 
and  lightnings  which  pealed  and  flashed 
from  its  bosom.  And  as  the  pillar  of 
cloud  was  regarded  as  the  throne  of 
God,  we  see  the  pertinency  of  the  allu- 
sion to  this  narrative  in  the  mystic 
21* 


scenery  of  the  Apocalypse,  ch.  4.  5, 
'And  out  of  the  throne  proceeded  light- 
nings and  thunderings  and  voices.' 

1\  The  voice  of  the  trumpet,  fleb.  ^p 
^S'tD  kol  shophar,  the  voice  or  sound  oj 
a  trumpet.  There  is  no  clear  authority 
in  the  original  for  the  use  of  the  moie 
definite  expression  '  the  trumpet,'  as  il 
in  allusion  to  some  trumpet  previously 
mentioned.  At  the  same  time  we  are 
not  prepared  to  affirm,  although  the 
^D"!  yobel  and  the  ^&w  shophar  wci* 
undoubtedly  different,  that  they  may  not 
both  refer  to  the  same  supernatural 
sounds  heard  on  this  occasion.  Th« 
use  of  the  term  in  either  case  may  per 
haps  simply  be  to  intimate  that  a  sound 
was  miraculously  produced  bearing  a 
strong  resemblance  to  that  of  a  trumpet, 
though  immeasurably  louder.  Perhaps 
the  clangor  of  an  unearthly  trumpet  was 
mingled  in  the  din  of  the  elements  to 
deepen  the  conviction  that  the  whole 
scene  was  preternatural.  Thunder  and 
lightning,  and  earthquake,  and  dark 
clouds  were  phenomena  with  which  they 
were  in  some  degree  acquainted,  and 
had  there  been  nothing  more,  it  might 
possibly  have  been  thought,  either  then 
or  in  alter  ages,  that  the  spectacle  wit- 
nessed was  merely  an  extraordinary 
tempest,  the  effect  solely  of  natural 
causes,  though  acting  with  unwonted 
violence.  But  when  a  sound  was  heard 
shrill  and  piercing  like  the  notes  of  a 
trumpet,  but  rising  above  the  hoarse 
peals,  the  roaring  and  the  crash  of  the 
thunder,  such  as  was  never  heard  be- 
fore in  any  commotion  of  the  elements, 
and  such  as  never  could  issue  from  an 
instrument  made  by  human  hands  or 
blown  by  human  breath,  no  wonder  that 
the  impression  upon  the  people  was  ter- 
rific beyond  all  conception.  No  wonder 
that  the  terms  '  voice  of  the  archangel 
and  trump  of  God'  should  have  arisen 
from  this  incident  of  the  dread  pheno- 
mena which  struck  the  senses  of  assem- 
bled Israel  at  the  base  of  the  holy  mount. 
It  is  undoubtedly  from  the  circumstance 


246 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


17  And  f  Moses  brought  forth  the 
people  out  of  the  camp  to  meet  with 
God  ;  and  they  stood  at  the  nether 
part  of  the  mount. 

IS  And  g  mount  Smai  was  alto- 
gether on  a  smoke,  because  the 
LoKD  descended  upon  it  hin  fire: 
»and  the  smoke  thereof  ascended 

f  Deut.  4.  10.  g  Deut.  4.  II.  &  33.  2.  Judg. 
5.  5.  I'.s.  68  T,  8.  Isai.  6.  4.  Uab.  3.  3.  h  di. 
3.  2.  &  24.  17.  2  Chron.  7.  1, 2,  3.  >  Gen.  15. 
17.  Ps.  144.  5.  Rev.  15.  8. 

here  mentioned  that  the  Scriptures  teach 
us  to  associate  idea  of  the  sound  of  a 
great  trumpet  with  the  awful  occur- 
rences of  the  day  of  judgment,  of  which 
the  giving  of  the  law  from  Sinai  was  in- 
tended to  be  a  faint  type  and  shadow. 

17.  To  meet  with  God.  Heb.  nj^lpjj 
f^n^b^n  likrath  ha-Elohim^  to  meet  the 
Elohim;  i.  e.  the  Deity,  in  his  visible 
apparition.     Chal.  'To  meet  the  Word 

of  the  Lord.' IT  Stood  at  the  nether 

part  of  the  mount .  Without  the  limits 
fixed  by  Moses. 

IS.  And  Mount  Sinai  was  altogether 
on  a  smoke,  &c.  The  appearances  thus 
far  seem  to  have  been  exclusively  those 
described  in  v.  16,  in  which  we  have  no 
mention  of  smoke  or  fire.  But  as  the 
solemnities  proceeded,  the  terrors  of 
the  scene  became  deeper.  Nature  seem- 
ed to  have  become  more  conscious  of 
the  approaching  God,  and  discovered 
greater  commotion.  Dark  and  pitchy 
volumes  of  smoke,  intermingled  with 
lurid  flames  of  fire,  rolled  up  the  sides 
and  above  the  summit  of  the  mount,  as 
if  issuing  from  an  immense  furnace,  and 
just  at  this  time  the  foundations  of  the 
perpetual  hills  began  to  be  moved  by 
the  throes  of  an  earthquake,  which 
shook  the  solid  rocky  mass  to  its  centre. 

19.  When  the  voice  of  the  trumpet 
sounded  long,  arid  waxed  louder  and 
louder.  Heb.  -I5i?3  ptm  "j^lH  holik 
ve-hazik  meod,  going  and  strengthen- 
ing exceedingly.  It  is  a  phrase  entire- 
ly ditferent  from  that  v.  13,  and  implies 
a  growing  intensity  in  the  loudness  of 


as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace,  and  k  the 
whole  mount  quaked  greatly. 

19  And  1  when  the  voice  of  the 
trumpet  sounded  long,  and  waxed 
louder  and  louder,  m  Moses  spake, 
and  »  God  answered  him  by  a  voice. 

20  And  the  Lord  came  down  upon 
mount  Sinai,  on  the  top  of  the 
mount :  and  the  Lord  called  Moses 

k  Ps.  68.  8.  &,  77.  18.  &  14.  7.  Jer.  4.  24. 
Hebr.  12.  26.  i  vex.  13.  ">  Hebr.  12.  21.  n  Neh, 
9.  13.   Ps.  81.  7. 


its  clang. IT  Moses  spake  and  God 

answered  him  by  a  voice.  What  Moses 
said  on  this  occasion,  we  are  not  in- 
formed ;  at  least  not  in  this  connexion. 
The  Apostle  tells  us,  Heb.  12.  21,  that 
in  the  midst  of  the  terrors  of  the  scene, 
he  said,  'I  exceedingly  fear  and  quake;' 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  it  was  pre- 
cisely at  this  stage  of  the  transaction 
that  these  words  were  uttered.  As  to 
the  answer  which  God  is  said  to  have 
given  him,  a  correct  view  of  that  depends 
upon  the  construction  of  the  next  verse. 
20,  21.  The  Lord  came  down  upon 
Mount  Sinai.  As  it  had  been  already 
said,  V.  IS,  that  the  Lord  descended 
upon  the  Mount  in  fire,  we  have  little 
hesitation  in  adopting  the  suggestion  of 
Calvin  that  all  the  verbs  here  should  be 
rendered  in  the  pluperfect  tense,  '  had 
come  down,'  'had  called,'  'had  gone  up,' 
and  the  whole  verse  considered  as  paren- 
thetical. The  scope  of  it  seems  to  be,  to 
inform  us  how  it  happened  that  Moses 
was  in  a  situation  to  hold  this  intercourse 
with  Jehovaih ;  for  it  does  not  appear 
that  in  anj  stage  of  the  proceedings  did 
God  communicate  with  Moses  while  he 
remained  among  the  people  below.  He 
was  invariably  called  up  to  the  summit, 
or  near  the  summit  of  the  mountain. 
But  as  nothing  had  heretofore  been  said 
of  Moses  since  he  was  represented  as 
bringing  the  people  out  of  the  camp  to 
their  appointed  station,  and  he  is  yet 
here  set  before  us  as  holding  commu- 
nion with  God,  it  was  obviously  proper 
to  interpose  the  notice  of  his  having 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


247 


up  to  the  top  of  the  mount ;  and 
Moses  went  up. 
21  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Go  down,  charge  the  people,  lest 


been  previously  called  up  to  the  top  of 
the  mount.  This  is  done  in  the  twentieth 
verse.  If  this  remark  be  well  founded, 
it  is  perhaps  to  be  inferred  that  God 
answered  Moses'  exclamation  by  giving 
him  the  order  mentioned,  v.  21,  viz.  to 
go  down  and  restrain  the  people  from 
breaking  through  the  prescribed  limits. 
Otherwise  we  must  suppose  that  as 
Moses'  words  to  God  are  not  expressly 
recorded,  so  God's  words  to  him  are  for 
wise  reasons  withheld.  But  however 
this  may  be,  the  charge  which  he  was 
required  to  convey  to  the  people  leads 
us  to  suppose,  that  when  they  saw  Mo- 
ses passing  unharmed  into  the  midst  of 
the  fire,  the  smoke,  and  the  lightning, 
their  curiosity  was  excited  to  the  high- 
est pitch  to  learn  the  nature  of  elements 
at  once  so  fearful  to  look  upon,  and  yet 
apparently  so  innocent  in  their  etlect, 
and,  accordingly,  that  many  of  them 
were  upon  the  point  of  breaking  through 
the  boundaries  to  gaze  more  closely  at 
the  spectacle.    This  is  confirmed  by  the 

Gr.  uri  TTOTC  cyyiCTwci  npos  tuv  Qeov  Karavo- 

Tiaai,  lest  by  any  means  they  draw  nigh 
unto  God  to  consider-  i.  e.  to  contem- 
plate, to  ponder,  to  study,  implying  the 
indulgence  of  a  prying  curiosity.  The 
word  is  used  in  this  sense  in  Stephen's 
speech,  Acts,  7.  31 ,  in  reference  to  Moses 

at  the  burning  bush. IT  Charge  the 

people,  iieh.  "J>n  hacd,  testify  unto.  Gr. 
6ia[iapTVf.<ii,  bear  witness  to;  the  same 
word  employed  by  Paul,  1  Tim.  5.  27, 
'  I  charge  thee  {^lafiaprvuoiiai)  before 
God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  elect  angels,  &c.'  So  also  2  Tim. 
2.  14,  'Of  these  things  put  them  in  re- 
membrance, charging  them  (Siajtaprv- 
pnvitevui)  before  the  Lord  that  they 
strive  not,  &c.'  Again,  2  Tim.  4.  1,  'J 
charge  thee   {SianapTvpo^ai)    therefore, 


they  break  through  unto  the  Lord 

o  to  gaze,  and  many  of  them  perish. 

22  And  let  the  priests  also  which 

come  near  to  the  Lord,  p  sanctify 

oScecli.3.  5.     1  Sam.ri.  li).     P  Lev.  10.  3. 

before  God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
&c.'  Thus  the  charge  here  appointed 
to  be  given  was  a  solemn  testimony 
of  God,  through  Moses,  of  the  con- 
sequences  of  disobedience. IT  Lest 

they  break  through  unto  the  Lord.  That 
is,  to  the  Shekinah,  the  visible  mani- 
festation of  the  Lord.  The  phraseology 
throughout  the  narrative  is  wonderfully 

in  keeping  with  this   idea. IT  And 

fnany  of  them  perish.  Heb.  1D?2)2  ^53 
D"l  naphal  mimmenu  rab,  many  of  them 
fall.  Gr.  -rreaioiTiv  c^  avrow  TrArjOoj,  a  mul- 
titude of  them  fall;  i.  e.  be  destroyed 
by  being  put  to  death  in  obedience 
to  the  command,  v.  12,  13.  We  cannot 
fail  to  learn  from  this,  that  a  prying 
curiosity  in  relation  to  matters  which 
God  does  not  see  fit  to  reveal  to  his 
creatures  is  not  only  highly  presumptu- 
ous, but  fraught  with  danger. 

22.  Let  the  priests  also  which  come 
near  to  the  Lord  sanctify  themselves. 
Heb.  mn^  ^i^  tl'i^L'^Dn  U^'in^n  hakko- 
hanim  hanniggashim  el  Yehovah,  the 
priests  coming  near  to  the  Lord;  i.  e. 
whose  duty,  whose  function,  it  is,  on 
ordinary  occasions,  to  come  near  to 
the  Lord.  Chal.  'Which  come  near  to 
minister  before  the  Lord.'  But  as  the 
Aaronical  priesthood  was  not  yet  estab- 
lished it  becomes  a  question  who  are 
meant  by  the  term.  We  learn  from 
Ex.  13.  2,  that  the  first-born  of  every 
family  were  in  a  special  manner  to  be 
dedicated  and  sanctified  to  God,  and  it 
is  clear,  from  the  whole  tenor  of  the 
patriarchal  history,  that  the  honor  of 
the  priesthood  was  considered  as  in- 
volved in  the  rights  of  primogeniture. 
As  this  was  the  case,  and  the  tribe  of 
Levi  was  afterwards  substituted  instead 
of  the  first-born,  we  cannot  well  doubt 
that  the  eldest  sons  throughout  the  tribes 


248 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


themselves,  lest  the  Lord  q  break 
forth  upon  them. 

23  And  Moses  said  unto  the  Lord, 
The   people   cannot   come   up   to 

q  2  Sam.  6.  7,  8. 


were  at  this  time  considered  as  invested 
with  so  much  of  the  priestly  character 
as  to  be  properly  employed  on  all  occa- 
sions when  any  peculiarly  sacred  minis- 
trations were  to  be  performed.  We  may 
therefore  suppose  that  this  class  of  the 
people  are  intended  by  the  appellation 
'priests,'  and  that  they  are  the  same  as 
we  afterwards,  Ex.  24.  5,  find  denomi- 
nated 'young  men  of  the  sons  of  Israel,' 
many  of  whom  were,  in  all  probability, 
at  the  same  time  heads,  chiefs,  and  el- 
ders  of  the  people,  and  so  still  more 
properly  to  be  viewed  as  having  the 
superintendence  of  the  sacred  services. 
These  were  charged  in  a  peculiar  and 
emphatic  manner  to  '  sanctify  them- 
selves' on  this  occasion,  i.  e.  by  ab- 
staining from  presumptuous  intrusion ; 
for  the  nearer  persons  are  brought  to 
God  by  their  office,  the  more  dangerous 
and  deadly  are  their  transgressions. 
They  had  no  doubt  shared  with  the  rest 
of  the  people  in  that  previous  personal 
sanctification  which  had  been  enjoined, 
V.  10,  so  that  that  cannot  here  be  alluded 
to.  The  meaning  is  rather,  that  con- 
sidering the  force  of  their  example,  the 
obedience  which  they  were  to  evince 
was  to  be  so  strict,  so  punctilious,  so 
conscientious,  that  it  would  be  con- 
sidered as  amounting  to  a  '  sanctifica- 
tion' of  themselves  in  the  sight  of  God. 
Comp.  Lev.  10.  3,  '  Then  Moses  said 
unto  Aaron,  This  is  it  that  the  Lord 
spake,  saying,  I  will  be  sanctified  in 
them  that  come  nigh  me,  and  before 
all  the  people  I  will  be  glorified.'  The 
implication  is.  that  while  in  the  obedi- 
ence of  common  persons  God  is  honored, 
in  that  of  his  priests  he  is  sajictified. 
——IT  Lest  the  Lord  break  forth  upon 
them.  Heb.  y^S"!  yiphrotz,  break  vio- 
lently forth.    The  word  is  not  the  same 


mount  Sinai :  for  thou  chargedst 
us,  saying,  »•  Set  bounds  about  the 
mount,  and  sanctify  it. 

»•  ver.  12.  Josh.  3.  4. 


with  that  applied  in  the  preceding  verse 
to  the  breaking  through  of  the  people 
in  respect  to  the  prescribed  limits.  That 
is  a  very  emphatic  word  ICliT^  yehersu, 
having  the  import  of  subverting,  raz- 
ing, destroying,  as  of  houses,  walls, 
fortifications,  &c,  and  therefore  very 
well  applied  to  the  rushing  and  pressure 
of  a  crowd  who  break  down,  trample 
under  foot,  and  obliterate,  any  kind  of 
fence  or  barrier  set  up  to  check  their 
progress.  But  the  root  "^''15  paratz  is 
equally  significant  as  spoken  of  God, 
and  conveys  the  idea  of  a  sudden,  fear- 
ful, and  destructive  bursting  forth  of  his 
judgments  against  opposers.  Thus,  2 
Sam.  5.  20,  'And  David  came  to  Baal- 
perazim,  and  David  smote  them  there, 
and  said.  The  Lord  hath  broken  forth 
(■^^5  paratz)  upon  mine  enemies  be- 
fore me,  as  the  breach  of  waters.  There- 
fore he  called  the  name  of  that  place 
Baal-perazim  ('□'^2215  ^5^2  baal  perat- 
zim,  i.  e. plain  of  breaches).'  So  also, 
2  Sam.  6.  8,  'And  David  was  displeased, 
because  the  Lord  had  made  a  breach 
upon  Uzzah  :  and  he  called  the  name 
of  the  place  Perez-uzzah   (flTJ?  y^'D  1 

perctz   Uzzah,  breach  of  Uzzah)    to  1 

this  day.'  We  are  no  doubt  prone  to  be 
covetous  of  license  beyond  what  God 
has  seen  fit  to  allow  us,  but  we  may  as- 
sure ourselves  that  he  always  has  con- 
ceded and  always  will  concede  as  much 
as  will  be  for  our  good,  and  with  such 
precepts  and  such  examples  as  we  have 
here  cited,  we  cannot  but  see  that  it  is 
at  our  utmost  peril  that  we  presume  to 
go  beyond  the  salutary  limits,  both  of 
knowledge  and  action,  which  he  has 
imposed. 

23.  The  people  cannot  come  up.  Not 
that  there  Avas  any  physical  impossi- 
bility in  the  way,  but  Moses  seems  to 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


219 


<?4  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him, 
Away,  get  tliee  down,  and  thou 
shah  come  up,  thou,  and  Aaron 
with  thee ;  but  let  not  tlie  priests 
and  the  people  break   through,  to 


have  thought  that  by  reason  of  the  un- 
utterable terror  and  glory  of  the  scene, 
it  was  morally  impossible  that  the  peo- 
ple should  any  of  them  be  so  presump- 
tuous as  to  transgress  an  order  which 
he  had  once  so  expressly  delivered  to 
them,  and  which  he  had  guarded  by  set- 
ting bounds  according  to  divine  direc- 
tion. Thus  it  is  that  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  a  due  deference  to  the  will  of 
God  in  themselves,  the  good  and  the 
charitable  are  sometimes  prone  to  en- 
tertain a  more  favorable  opinion  of  hu- 
man nature  than  the  truth  will  warrant. 
God  often  sees  a  necessity  of  uttering 
cautions  and  repeating  commands  of 
wliich  his  right-minded  servants  are  but 
Jittle  aware. 

24.  Thou  and  Aaron  with  thee.  God 
does  not  see  fit  to  make  any  direct 
verbal  reply  to  Moses'  remark,  nor  does 
he  intimate  that  he  had  been  guilty  of 
remissness  in  any  part  of  his  duty,  but 
he  repeats  the  order  that  he  should  go 
down,  not  only  to  renew  his  warning  to 
the  priests  and  people,  but  also  to  take 
Aaron  and  bring  him  up  with  him  to 
the  top  of  the  mount.  As  he  was  about 
to  invest  him  with  the  honors  of  the 
high  priesthood,  it  was  fitting  that  he 
should  put  upon  him  such  tokens  of 
distinction  as  would  inspire  the  people 
with  a  profound  respect  for  his  dignity 

and  authority. ^  Let  not  the  priests 

and  the  people  break  through  to  come  up. 

Gr.  jiri  ftta^i'jO'jyrTav  avaf^rji'ut  TTOog  tov  Off;)/, 

let  them  not  violently  press  to  come  up  to 
God.  As  if  the  danger  were  that  in  their 
anxiety  to  gaze  they  should  even  at- 
tempt to  advance  up  the  sides  of  the 
mountain,  from  which  all  but  Moses 
were  strictly  interdicted.  As  the  priests 
were  ordinarily  permitted  to  approach 
aearer  to  God  than  the  rest  of  the  peo- 


come  up  unto   the   Lord  lest  he 
break  forth  upon  them. 
25  So  Moses  went  down  unto  the 
people,  and  spake  unto  them. 

pie  in  the  discharge  of  their  official  du- 
ties, they  might  perhaps  be  at  a  loss  to 
see  why  they  nught  not  follow  Moses, 
and  still  more  Aaron,  in  his  near  ac- 
cess to  the  Lord,  and  thus  be  embold- 
ened to  promise  themselves  impunity 
even  if  they  went  beyond  the  limits 
prescribed  to  the  rest  of  the  people, 

25.  And  spake  unto  them.  Heb.  1?25<'^1 
va-yojuer,  and  said  unto  them.  Eut 
what  he  said  unto  them  is  not  stated  ; 
for  which  reason  some  have  thought 
that  ^?2i<"'1  m-yomer  in  this  connexion 
was  equivalent  to  ^l^T^I  va-yedabber, 
and  he  spake,  as  our  translation  has  it. 
But  we  may  still  take  the  verb  in  its 
usual  sense  by  supplying,  with  Jarchi, 
the  objective  clause  ;  'He  said  or  de- 
livered to  them  this  admonition,'  i.  e. 
what  is  contained  in  the  preceding  verse. 
'  Moses  went  down  and  said  it  unto 
them.'     Ainsworth. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
THE  LAW. 

The  sacred  historian,  havmg  fully  de- 
tailed in  the  preceding  chapter  all  the 
various  preliminaries  to  the  delivery  of 
the  Law,  comes  now  to  the  account  of 
the  solemn  transaction  itself — the  most 
remarkable  event,  perhaps,  taken  in  all 
its  bearings,  that  occurred  in  the  history 
of  the  cliosen  people  prior  to  the  incar- 
nation of  Christ,  and  one  of  the  most 
remarkal)le  that  ever  did  or  will  distin- 
guish the  annals  of  the  world  itself  The 
occasion  was  indeed  one  which  had  a 
primary  reference  to  the  nation  of  Israel, 
'to  wiiom,'  says  tiie  apostle,  'pertain- 
eth  the  adoption,  and  the  glory,  and  the 
covenants,  and  tlie  giving  of  the  law. 


250 


EXODUS. 


B.  C.  1 191. 


aiid  the  service  of  God,  and  the  prom- 
ises.' But  it  was  not  an  event  consti- 
luting  the  national  distinction  of  that 
people  only.  It  was  one  affecting  the 
whole  human  race  in  its  deepest  inter- 
ests, both  temporal  and  eternal.  God 
himself  descended  from  heaven  and  by 
a  supernatural  voice  promulgated  to 
man  the  Moral  Law,  the  expression  ol 
his  will,  the  reflection  of  his  nature,  the 
immutable  standard  of  right,  the  inflex- 
ible rule  oi  action  for  his  accountable 
creatures,  containing  every  essential 
principle  of  duty,  and  embodying  the 
grounds  of  all  the  future  rewards  and 
punishments  to  be  enjoyed  or  suffered 
throughout  the  ages  of  eternity.  These 
considerations  impart  to  this  event  a 
magnitude  and  importance  scarcely  to 
be  paralleled  by  any  thing  else  which 
has  come  within  the  range  of  our  ex- 
positions, so  that  the  nature  and  scope 
of  the  Law  itself,  the  various  circum- 
stances attending  its  promulgation,  the 
phraseology  in  which  it  is  couched,  and 
the  principles  of  its  interpretation  de- 
mand the  most  careful  investigation. 
Such  an  inquiry  will  be  best  conducted 
under  the  several  distinct  heads  that 
follow. 

1 .  Various  Divisions  and  Titles  of  the 
Law. 
As  the  people  of  Israel  maybe  viewed 
under  a  threefold  aspect,  so  we  have  a 
foundation  laid  in  this  fact  for  a  three- 
fold acceptation  of  the  word  Law.  They 
may  be  viewed,  (1.)  As  rational  and 
responsible  creatures,  depending  upon 
God,  and  subject  to  his  will  as  the  su- 
preme Ruler  and  Judge  of  the  universe. 
In  this  capacity  the  law  of  the  ten  com- 
mandments, or  the  moral  law,  was  given 
to  them,  which  is  substantially  one  and 
the  same  with  tlie  law  of  nature,  and 
binding  all  men  as  such.  (2.)  As  the 
church  of  tlie  Old  Testament,  expecting 
the  Messiali,  and  furnished  with  a  sys- 
tem of  worship  embracing  a  great  va- 
riety of  rites  and  ceremonies,  which 


pointed  more  or  less  distinctly  to  him. 
Viewed  in  this  ecclesiastical  character, 
God  bestowed  ujion  them  the  ceremonial 
law,  which  was  a  body  of  rules  and  pre- 
cepts regulating  their  religious  worsliip. 
(3.)  As  a  peculiar  people,  having  a  civil 
polity  and  constitution  especially  ap- 
pointed for  them,  and  distinguishing 
them  from  all  other  nations,  their  gov- 
ernment being  in  fact  a  theocracy,  in 
which  God  himself  was  their  supreme 
magistrate.  Viewed  in  this  light  a 
code  of  civil  or  political  laws  was  pre- 
scribed them.  The  term  '  the  law'  is 
sometimes  applied  to  one  of  these  sys- 
tems, and  sometimes  to  another,  and 
again  to  the  whole  taken  collectively ; 
so  that  we  must  often  be  governed  in 
great  measure  by  the  context  in  deter- 
mining the  precise  sense  in  which  the 
term  is  used.  It  is  however  most  le- 
gitimately and  emphatically  employed 
in  reference  to  the  first  of  these,  or 
the  moral  law,  which  was  distinguished 
from  the  others  by  being  audibly  de- 
livered by  God  himself  and  afterwards 
written  by  him  upon  two  tables  of  stone. 
Of  this  Law  one  of  the  prevailing  scrip- 
tural designations  is  'the  ten  words,' 
or  '  ten  commandments,'  a  pliraseology 
which  is  fully  considered  in  the  notes  on 
the  first  verse  of  this  chapter.  The  term 
'Decalogue'  is  wholly  equivalent,  being 
derived  from  the  Gr.  6eKa\oyoi,  from 
Sfku,  ten,  and  }>oyoi,  word.  The  origin 
of  this  appellation  is  easily  to  be  traced 
to  such  passages  as  the  following,  Ex. 
34.  28,  'And  he  wrote  upon  the  tables 
the  words  of  the  covenant,  the  ten  com- 
mandments (Gr.Tovi  6cKa  'Xoyovs).^  Deut. 
13.  4,  'And  he  declared  unto  you  his 
covenant,  which  he  commanded  you  to 
perform,  icere  ten  commandments  (Heb. 
tji'niin  n^Cy  oscrcf/i  haddebarim,  the 
ten  words,  Gr.  ra  ScKa  prjunra)  ;  and  he 
wrote  them  upon  two  tables  of  stone.' 
In  other  connexions  we  find  the  several 
terms  Law,  Covenant,  Testimony,  Stat- 
utes, Precepts,  Commandments,  &c.  ap- 
plied as  a  designation  of  the  moral  code 


B.  C.  1491.J 


CHAPTER  XX. 


251 


delivered  at  Sinai,  the  grounds  of  which 
are  cither  so  obvious  as  not  to  require 
particular  exposition,  or  are  sufficiently- 
unfolded  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing 
notes ;  so  that  a  precise  explication  of 
tiiem  may  at  present  be  waved. 

2.  Classification  of  the  Precepts  of  the 
Law. 
In  all  ages  of  the  church  it  has  been 
admitted  that  the  Moral  Law  was  com- 
prised in  ten  distinct  cominandmeuls. 
Of  these  again  a  very  ancient  and  gen- 
erally recognized  division  is  into  two 
tables;  the  first  embracing  the  first  four, 
the  second  the  last  six,  of  the  pre- 
cepts ;  the  first  containing,  in  a  general 
way,  the  duties  we  owe  to  God,  the  se- 
cond, those  which  we  owe  to  our  fel- 
low-men. This  division,  which  is  very 
natural,  is  warranted  by  the  express 
words  of  the  Savior,  Mat.  22.  37 — 10, 
who  divides  the  Law  into  two  great  com- 
mandments, 'Thou  shall  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  &c.  This 
is  the  first  and  groat  commandment  ; 
and  the  second  is  like  unto  it,  Thou 
shall  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.' 

In  the  numerical  arrangement  and  dis- 
tinction of  the  several  precepts  of  the 
decalogue,  it  is  well  known  that  the  Ro- 
manists differ  essentially  from  Protest- 
ants. Following  the  authority  of  Au- 
gustiu,  the  Roman  Church  makes  but 
one  commandment  of  the  two  first,  while 
in  order  to  keep  good  the  number  ten, 
they  divide  the  tenth  into  two,  making 
the  first  sentence  of  that  commandment 
the  ninth.  The  consequence  has  been 
that  in  many  professed  recitals  of  tlie 
ten  commandments  in  books  of  devo- 
tion, what  we  term  the  second,  forbid- 
ding idolatry,  is  entirely  omitted.  The 
motive  for  tlius  abstracting  the  second 
commandment  from  the  Decalogue  is 
very  easily  imagined  on  the  part  of  a 
church  which  gives  so  much  countenance 
to  image-worship  ;  and  it  is  equally  ob- 
vious th.it  tlie  partition  nf  the  tenth  into 


two,  is  wholly  with  a  view  to  compen- 
sate the  mutilation  by  leaving  the  no7n- 
inal  integrity  of  the  code  unimpaired. 
Tliat  such  a  disjunction  of  the  parts  of 
the  tenth  commandment  is  wholly  un- 
authorized and  violent,  will  be  evident 
upon  a  comparison  of  the  text  as  it 
stands  in  the  chapter  before  us  and  in 
Dent.  5.  2L  In  the  jjresent  passage  the 
coveting  of  a  *  house'  occurs  before  the 
coveting  of  a  '  wife ;'  whereas  in  the 
other  passage  llie  order  is  reversed  and 
'  house'  occurs  after  '  wife.'  If  then  the 
Papal  division  were  well  founded,  the 
ninth  commandment  according  to  the 
one  reading  would  be,  'Thou  shall  not 
covet  thy  neighbor's  house,'  and  accord- 
ing to  the  other,  'Thou  shall  not  covet 
thy  neighbor's  wife.'  Such  a  diversi- 
ty it  appears  from  Hallett's  Notes  on 
Scripture  Texts  (vol.  3.  p.  55.)  actually 
exists  in  some  of  the  Catechisms  and 
Manuals  of  the  Roman  church.  But 
suppose,  with  Protestants,  that  'house' 
and  '  wife'  belong  to  the  same  precept, 
and  the  change  in  collocation  is  a  mat- 
ter of  no  moment. 

A  difference  occurs  also  between  the 
Heb.  and  the  Gr.  copies  in  regard  to  the 
collocation  of  the  sixth  and  seventh  com- 
mandments. The  Gr.  places  our  seventh 
before  the  sixth,  and  this  order  is  fol- 
lowed by  such  of  the  early  Christian 
Fathers  as  used  the  translation  of  the 
Seventy,  as  also  by  Philo  among  the 
Jews.  The  Gr.,  however,  preserves 
the  usual  order  of  the  Heb.  text  in  Deut. 
5.  17,  18.  In  the  New  Testament  a  sim- 
ilar diversity  obtains.  In  Mark,  10.  19, 
and  Luke,  18.  20,  the  prohibition  of 
'adultery'  comes  before  that  of 'killing  ;' 
while  in  Mat.  19.  18,  the  Heb.  arrange- 
ment is  observed.  The  inference  is  fair 
from  this  that  provided  the  integrity  of 
the  Decalogue  be  preserved,  and  there 
be  no  addition  to  nor  subtraction  from 
the  true  number,  the  ])recise  order  of 
enumeration  is  not  a  matter  of  any  great 
moment. 


252 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


3.  Nature  and  Scope  of  the  Law. 
It  is  too  obvious  to  require  proof  that 
man  was  formed  to  be  a  creature  of 
law.  At  his  very  creation,  the  law  of 
God  was  written  on  his  heart.  Those  di- 
vine fingers  which  so  curiously  wrought 
the  physical  fabric  of  his  body,  inter- 
wove also  the  precepts  of  this  law  with 
the  interior  frame- work  of  his  soul. 
Nor  are  we  to  suppose  that  man  had 
been  utterly  destitute  of  all  external 
notices  of  this  law  from  the  creation  to 
the  present  time.  Though  not  previously 
so  expressly  and  formally  revealed,  yet 
as  sin  was  in  the  world  from  Adam  to 
Moses,  so  we  cannot  doubt  that  that 
law,  by  the  knowledge  of  which  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin,  was  also  in  the  world. 
But  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  in 
process  of  time  all  flesh  had  corrupted 
its  way,  and  the  traces  of  the  moral  code 
were  nearly  obliterated  among  men. 
The  great  fundamental  truths  of  religion 
were  lost  and  buried  in  the  abound- 
ing idolatry  and  immorality  that  every 
where  prevailed.  In  these  circumstances, 
when  it  pleased  God  to  separate  to  him- 
self a  peculiar  people,  who  should  know 
his  will,  and  be  the  depositaries  of  his 
truth,  he  saw  fit  to  republish  this  law, 
and  so  to  record  it  as  to  give  it  a  per- 
manent establishment  in  the  world  ; 
and  in  order  to  convey  a  more  suitable 
impression  of  its  spirit  and  design,  it 
was  to  be  delivered  in  circumstances  of 
the  greatest  imaginable  pomp  and  ter- 
ror. The  intrinsic  propriety  of  this  will 
be  seen  at  once  on  considering  the  cha- 
racter of  the  Law.  As  contrasted  with 
the  Gospel  it  was  a  dispensation  of 
wrath,  a  ministration  of  condemnation 
and  death.  'Cursed  be  every  one  that 
continueth  not  in  all  things  that  are 
written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do 
them,'  is  its  inexorable  language.  It 
was  a  'fiery  law,'  denouncing  judgment 
without  mercy  for  every  offence,  and 
not  knowing  either  abatement,  or  inter- 
mission, or  compromise  of  its  stern  de- 
mands.   The  circumstances  of  its  de- 


livery, therefore,  were  intended  to  be  in 
keeping  with  its  character.  Being  a 
transcript  of  the  divine  perfections,  it 
was  to  be  so  promulgated  as  to  impress 
those  who  heard  it,  and  tliose  who 
should  hear  of  it,  with  a  just  sense  of 
the  greatness,  majesty,  glory,  and  ter- 
ribleness  of  that  Being  from  whom  it 
emanated.  It  was  designed  to  work  a 
deep  conviction  of  the  fearfulness  of 
Jehovah's  displeasure,  and  to  inspire 
alarm  by  awaking  a  sense  of  sin.  Ac- 
cordingly, as  it  was  attended  with  the 
terrors  of  Sinai  in  its  proclamation,  so 
it  comes  into  the  conscience  with  the 
dread  of  God's  wrath.  As  the  mountain 
shook,  as  the  people  trembled,  as  Mo- 
ses himself  said,  '  I  exceedingly  fear 
and  quake,'  so  the  soul  when  it  becomes 
convinced  of  sin,  is  filled  Avilh  dismay. 
Fearfulness  and  trembling  come  upon 
it ;  it  shakes  with  violent  ap])rehensions 
of  woe,  and  looks  for  instant  destruc- 
tion. Such  is  the  necessary  conse- 
quence. Whenever  a  man  obtains  a 
correct  view  of  the  Law,  and  feels  that 
he  has  broken  it  j  when  he  sees  that  the 
Law  is  spiritual,  and  that  he  is  carnal, 
sold  under  sin  ;  when  he  perceives  that 
he  is  condemned,  and  every  monient 
liable  to  the  curse  ;  he  cannot  but  expe- 
rience the  same  kind  of  inward  emotions 
and  perturbations  as  the  Israelites  ex- 
perienced when  they  saw  the  fires  of 
Sinai,  heard  its  thunders,  and  felt  its 
shaking.  Thus  one  main  object  of  the 
giving  of  the  Law  was  attained — the  be- 
getting a  sense  of  native  sinfulness,  of 
distance  from  God,  of  exposcdness  to 
wrath.  But  this  would  lead  directly  to 
another  of  equal  importance — the  ne- 
cessity  of  a  Mediator.  And  this  effect 
was  very  decidedly  wrought  on  the 
present  occasion.  They  were  conscious 
that  they  could  not  approach  to  God 
without  some  kind  of  intervention.  Ac- 
cordingly, they  who  but  just  before  had 
been  with  difficulty  restrained  from 
breaking  through  the  bounds  that  had 
been  assigned  them,  were  now  so  alarm- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


253 


ed  that  they  drew  back  from  their  sta- 
tion, and  entreated  that  God  would  no 
longer  deliver  his  commands  to  them  in 
lliat  way,  lest  they  should  die.  They 
desired  that  Moses  might  act  as  a  me- 
diator between  God  and  them,  and  that 
all  future  intimations  of  the  divine  will 
should  be  given  through  that  medium. 
They  were  not  perhaps  aware  of  the 
full  meaning  of  their  own  request,  nor 
of  how  much  a  greater  mediator  than 
Moses  they  stood  m  need.  But  God 
approved  of  their  request,  and  not  only 
complied  with  it,  but  promised  another 
Mediator  at  a  future  period,  who  should 
resemble  Moses,  and  Avhom  the  people 
were  required,  under  the  highest  penal- 
ty, to  obey.  For  it  was  on  this  occa- 
sion that  the  promise  contained  Deut. 
IS.  1;5— 19,  was  given,  'The  Lord  thy 
God  will  raise  up  unto  thee  a  Prophet 
from  the  midst  of  thee,  of  thy  brethren, 
like  unto  me  ;  unto  him  ye  shall  heark- 
en. According  to  all  that  thou  desir- 
edst  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  Horeb  in 
the  day  of  the  assembly,  saying,  Let 
me  not  hear  again  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
my  God,  neither  let  me  see  this  great 
fire  any  more,  that  I  die  not.  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  me.  They  have  well 
spoken  that  which  they  have  spoken. 
I  will  raise  them  up  a  Prophet  from 
among  their  brethren,  like  unto  thee, 
and  will  put  my  words  in  his  mouth : 
and  he  shall  speak  unto  them  all  that  I 
shall  command  him.  And  it  shall  come 
to  pass,  that  whosoever  will  not  hearken 
unto  my  words  which  he  shall  speak  in 
my  name,  I  will  require  it  of  him.'  The 
agency  of  Moses,  therefore,  througliout 
the  whole  transaction,  passing  to  and 
fro  between  God  and  the  people,  now 
ascending  the  mount  and  entering  the 
cloud,  and  now  again  coming  forth,  re- 
turning to  the  camp,  and  delivering  his 
messages,  was  expressly  designed  as  a 
lively  type  of  the  mediatorship  of  Christ 
in  efiecting  our  acceptance  and  salvation. 
And  thus  it  serves,  as  the  ajioslle  says, 
'as  a  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to  Christ.' 
Vol .  I  22 


With  this  view  of  the  essential  na- 
ture  and  genius  of  the  Law  before  us, 
we  cannot  easily  fall  into  the  error 
against  which  the  apostle  Paul  has  so 
anxiously  warned  us,  of  supposing  that 
it  was  given  in  order  to  man's  being 
saved  by  his  living  up  to  its  demands. 
It  was  not  given  to  give  life.  'By  the 
deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  living  be 
justified.'  It  was  rather  designed  as  a 
divine  revelation  of  man's  religious  and 
moral  duties,  as  a  perfect  standard  and 
rule  of  obedience,  and  one  too  of  per- 
petual and  universal  obligation.  For 
as  every  precept  of  it  flows  directly 
from  the  unchangeable  perfections  of 
God,  it  must  for  ever  make  the  same 
uncompromising  demand  upon  the  obe- 
dience of  its  subjects.  The  ceremonial 
statutes  might  serve  a  temporary  end 
and  be  abolished.  But  of  the  Moral  Law 
our  Savior  says, '  Heaven  and  earth  shall 
pass  away,  but  one  jot  or  one  tittle 
shall  in  no  wise  pass  from  the  law  till 
all  be  fulfilled.'  It  must  necessarily 
enter  into  the  Christian  dispensation, 
and  pervade  it  through  every  period  of 
its  existence.  It  will  even  pass  into 
heaven  itself  and  there  be  the  delight 
and  govern  the  service  of  every  glorified 
spirit  and  ministering  angel.  This  will 
be  more  evident  if  we  consider  that  it 
is  the  universal  law  of  love.  God  is 
love,  and  his  Law  inculcates  love.  A 
comjjend  of-the  whole  Law  is  embraced 
in  the  precept,  '  Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  and  all 
thy  mind  and  all  thy  strength,  and  thy 
neighbor  as  tliyself.  On  these  two 
commandments  hang  all  the  law  and 
the  prophets.'  Love  therefore  must  be 
of  universal  and  eternal  obligation,  im- 
mutable as  the  nature  of  God  himself. 
God  cannot  divest  himself  of  love,  nor 
even  abrogate  the  Law  which  requires  it. 

From  all  this  we  perceive  the  great 
ends  which  were  to  be  answered  by  the 
promulgation  of  the  Law  of  the  ten 
commandments,  and  for  the  same  rea- 
sons we  can  see  why  it  was  that  such  a 


254 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


scene  was  chosen  for  the  purpose.  The 
genius  of  the  Law  was  severe,  rigid, 
dark, fearful,  terrific.  In  accordance  with 
this  the  people  of  Israel  were  led  into 
a  dreary,  desolate  wilderness,  a  region 
of  barren  rocks  and  thirsty  sands,  where 
all  nature  appeared  in  its  most  wild, 
and  rugged,  and  desert  aspect.  There, 
amidst  bleak  mountainous  masses  of 
granite,  separated  by  narrow  ravines, 
in  which  only  here  and  there  little 
patches  of  herbage,  and  scattered  trees 
are  found,  the  Law  of  Sinai  was  pro- 
claimed, as  if  it  were  especially  intend- 
ed to  teach  them  that  that  dispensation, 
compared  with  the  gospel,  was  like  the 
most  desert  and  forbidding  locality  on 
the  earth's  surface  contrasted  with  the 
most  blooming  and  luxuriant  paradise 
which  the  hands  of  nature  and  art  ever 
conspired  to  beautify.  This  view  of 
the  event  before  us  will  no  doubt  be- 
come more  and  more  striking,  in  pro- 
portion as  the  geological  and  topo- 
graphical features  of  that  region  are 
more  fully  disclosed,  as  they  are  in  a 
fair  way  to  be,  in  consequence  of  the 
growing  influx  of  travel  into  that  mem- 
orable and  interesting  quarter  of  the 
globe. 

4.  Principles  of  Interpretation. 
'Thy  commandment,'  says  David, '  is 
exceeding  broad ;'  in  which  we  read  a 
cl«ar  intimation  of  the  extent  and  spirit- 
uality of  the  divine  requirements,  as 
reaching  beyond  the  outward  actions, 
and  taking  cognizance  of  the  inmost 
thoughts  and  intentions  of  the  heart. 
With  so  important  a  portion  of  revela- 
tion, therefore,  before  us,  it  is  evidently 
a  matter  of  great  moment  to  fix  upon 
correct  principles  of  interpretation,  and 
in  coming  at  these,  nothing  is  more  ob- 
vious than  that  the  mode  of  interpreta- 
tion adopted  by  Christ  and  his  apostles 
is  to  be  a  directory  for  us  in  putting 
our  constructions  upon  the  precepts  of 
the  Decalogue.  Referring  then  to  our 
Lord's  sermon  on  the  mount,  it  is  clear 


beyond  all  question  that  the  Law,  prop- 
erly understood,  lays  its  demands  and 
its  prohibitions  upon  the  inward  actings 
of  the  spirit,  and  not  merely  upon  the 
outward  conduct.  If  we  are  taught  by 
this  supreme  authority  to  regard  cher 
ished  lust  as  adultery,  and  harbored 
hate  as  murder,  how  can  we  avoid  the 
inference  that  all  the  commandments 
arc  equally  extensive  in  their  import, 
and  address  themselves  directly  to  the 
heart  as  the  fountain  of  action  and  the 
criterion  of  character  ?  To  the  same 
conclusion  are  we  irresistibly  brought 
by  the  language  of  Paul  in  his  reason- 
ings upon  the  Law  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans.  It  was  only  when  he 
came  to  understand  fully  the  spiritual 
nature  of  the  Law  and  the  sternness  and 
universality  of  its  requirements,  that 
he  became  convinced  of  sin,  and,  as  it 
were,  slain  by  its  killing  power.  The 
same  view  of  the  character  of  this 
deeply  searching  moral  code  is  undoubt- 
edly maintained  throughout  the  whole 
tenor  of  the  Scriptures,  so  that  we  can- 
not well  hesitate  to  admit  the  justness 
of  the  canon  laid  down  in  the  Assem- 
bly's Catechism,  for  interpreting  the 
demands  of  the  Law,  '  that  it  binds 
every  one  to  full  conformity  in  the  whole 
man,  unto  the  righteousness  thereof, 
and  to  entire  obedience  for  ever ;  so  as 
to  require  the  utmost  perfection  in 
every  duty,  and  to  forbid  the  least  de- 
gree of  every  sin.'  Accordingly,  in  put- 
ting a  due  sense  upon  the  several  pre- 
cepts, we  must  admit  that  'when  a  par- 
ticular duty  is  commanded,  the  contrary 
sin  is  forbidden,  with  all  the  causes,  oc- 
casions, and  temptations  which  might 
lead  to  it  ;  and  \\  hen  a  sin  is  forbidden, 
the  contrary  duty  is  commanded,  to- 
gether with  all  the  requisite  means  to 
its  performance.' 

It  may  also  be  remarked  in  regard 
to  the  distinction  of  the  precepts  into 
affirmative  and  negative,  that  there  is 
ground  for  it  in  the  consideration  that 
what  God  forbids  is  at  no  time  to  be 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


255 


done  ;  what  he  commands  is  always  our 
duty,  yet  every  particular  duty  is  not 
to  be  done  at  all  times.  Moreover,  it 
must  be  perceived  that  in  the  negative 
mode  of  injunction,  there  is  something 
more  emphatic,  and  that  leaves  less 
room  for  evasion.  Thus,  had  the  first 
commandment,  '  Thou  shalt  have  no 
other  gods,  &c.,'  been  proiwunded  af- 
firmatively, '  Thou  shalt  worship  one 
God,'  the  Samaritans,  for  instance, 
might  still  have  contended  tliat  they 
kept  this  commandment,  though  they 
mixed  the  worship  of  other  gods  with 
that  of  the  true. 

On  the  whole,  it  is  obvious  that  this 
momentous  and  immutable  Law  is 
framed  with  the  utmost  wisdom  of  its 
divine  author,  and  that  if  its  deep  spirit- 
uality, its  rigid  and  uncompromising  de- 
mands, its  perpetual  authority,  and  its 
awful  sanctions,  were  duly  appreciated, 
it  would  awaken  and  keep  alive  every 
where  the  slumbering  consciousness  of 
sin,  and  at  once  lead  to  and  endear  the 
atonement  of  Christ,  who  was  made  a 
curse  for  us  that  he  might  redeem  us 
from  the  curse  of  the  violated  Law. 

5.  Ministry  of  Anscds  in  the  Delivery 
of  the  Law. 
No  attentive  reader  of  the  Scriptures 
can  fail  to  have  been  struck  with  the 
fact,  that  in  several  passages,  both  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament,  the  pres- 
ence and  the  agency  of  angels  is'^ex- 
pressly  recognized  on  the  occasion  of  the 
giving  of  the  law.  A  somewhat  extend- 
ed and  minute  examination,  therefore, 
of  the  circumstances  attending  this  re- 
markable event  will  here  be  proper,  in 
order  to  obtain,  if  possible,  the  true  clue 
to  the  language  employed  bj-  the  sacred 
writers  in  describing  it.  It  will  be 
evident,  if  w^e  mistake  not,  from  the 
tenor  of  our  annotations  on  the  preced- 
ing chapter,  t)iat  the  ])illar  of  cloud, 
the  sublime  Sbekinah,  which  had  hither- 
to  directed  the  journey  ings  of  the  Israpl- 
ite.s,  now  removed  itself  from  over  the 


place  of  their  encampment  and  took  its 
position  on  the  mountain.  Here  it  as- 
sumed, in  the  (irst  instance,  a  hue  of 
dense  and  pitch)'-  darkness,  which  would 
contrast  more  strongly  with  the  fiery 
splendors  that  were  ere  long  to  burst 
out  of  its  bosom,  and  together  with  the 
earthquake,  and  tlic  thunder,  and  the 
trumpet-blast,  to  clothe  the  scene  with 
a  grandeur  utterly  un))arallcled  on  earth. 
It  is  true,  the  Shekinah  is  here  pre- 
sented in  aspect  different  from  any  in 
which  we  have  yet  contemplated  it. 
We  have  hitherto  beheld  it  in  connexion 
with  an  audible  voice — as  a  fire  burning 
in  but  not  consuming  the  bushy  thicket 
—  as  an  illuminated  pillar  of  cloud  — 
but  no  where  else  have  wo  seen  it  with 
the  accompaniment  of  thunders  and 
lightnings  and  the  voice  of  a  trumpet, 
and  all  the  fearful  array  of  Mount  Sinai. 
Still  that  this  ims  an  actual  exhibition 
of  the  Shekinah  the  narrative  leaves  us 
no  room  to  doubt.  The  ancient  versions 
plainly  confirm  this  view.  Of  these  one 
of  the  Chaldee  Targums  renders  the  ac- 
count in  the  19th  chapter  ; — 'Moses  led 
the  people  out  of  the  camp  to  meet 
the  Shekinah  of  Jehovah  ;'  another,  'to 
meet  the  Word  of  the  Lord ;'  and  the 
Arab,  '  to  meet  the  Angel  of  the  Lord.' 
Now  it  is  to  be  recollected  that  we  have 
previously  shown  that  the  visible  She- 
kinah IS  repeatedly  termed  the  'Angel 
of  the  Lord,'  and  that  this  is  the  true 
object  which  is  to  be  brought  before  the 
mind  whenever  in  the  books  of  Moses 
the  title  'Angel  of  the  Lord'  occurs. 
The  Shekinah  was  so  called  because 
it  was  the  ordinary  medium  or  organ 
through  which  the  Most  High  manifest- 
ed his  presence  and  evinced  his  favor 
or  disfavor  towards  the  chosen  people. 
Bearing  this  fact  in  mind,  let  us  turn  to 
Acts,  7.  37,  3S,  where  in  the  speech  of 
Stephen  it  is  said,  'This  is  that  Moses 
which  said  unto  the  children  of  Israel, 
A  Prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  (iod  raise 
up  unto  you  of  your  brethren  like  unto 
me  :  him  shall  ye  hear.  This  is  he  that 


256 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


was  in  the  cluircli  in  the  wilderness  with 
the  angel  which  s])ake  to  him  in  the 
Mount  Sinai,  and  with  our  fathers  ;  who 
received  the  lively  oracles  to  give  unto 
us.'  Here  it  is  evident  that  the  'Angel' 
mentioned  is  no  other  than  he  who  was 
the  great  Speaker  on  the  occasion  of  the 
delivery  of  the  Law,  and  that  this  was  Je- 
hovah himself  in  his  appropriate  symbol 
of  the  cloudy  pillar  is,  we  think,  indubit- 
able. But  here  there  is  comjiaralively 
little  difficulty,  as  the  term  'AngeP  is 
singular  and  refers  plainly  to  a  single 
personage.  In  the  following  passages 
however  the  term  is  plural,  and  the  so- 
lution, not  so  directly  obvious.  Gal.  3. 
19,  'It  (the  Law)  was  ordained  by  an- 
gels in  the  hand  of  a  mediator.'  Again, 
Heb.  2.  2,  ^For  if  the  word  spoken  by 
angels  was  steadfast,'  &c.  No  one  can 
fail  to  see  that  in  these  passages  the 
presence  of  angels  is  recognized  as  in 
some  way  connected  with  the  sublim- 
ities and  sanctities  of  the  awful  scene. 
It  is  not  merely  the  one  Angel  of  the 
Shekinah  who  is  referred  to,  but  there 
is  a  clear  implication  of  the  accom- 
panying presence  of  a  multitude  of  the 
heavenly  hosts.  How  then  is  tliis  to  be 
understood  ?  Moses  in  his  narrative 
says  nothing  of  such  an  angelic  append- 
age to  the  scene,  and  it  is  an  important 
enquiry  whence  such  a  usage  of  speech 
maybe  supposed  to  have  originated.  It 
will  be  seen  from  our  Notes  on  Ex.  25. 
18,  that  the  Cherubim  are  ])roperly  to  be 
regarded  as  a  symbol  of  multitude;  and 
ample  proof  may  be  adduced  that  a 
multitude  of  angelic  attendants  was  al- 
ways supposed  to  accompany  the  She- 
kinah. From  the  very  first  introduc- 
tion of  these  sacred  symbols  into  the 
divine  economy  at  the  garden  of  Eden 
they  were  always  viewed  in  this  light, 
and  though  occasionally  the  visible 
Glory  miglit  appear  Avhen  the  accom- 
panying multitudes  did  not,  yet  in  the 
minds  of  the  chosen  people  they  were 
habitually  associated  with  it  and  viewed 
as  in  fact  involved  in  it.    Indeed,  the 


remarkable  device  of  the  Ark  o{  the 
Covenant,  with  its  appurtenances  of  the 
Glory  and  the  Cherubim  was  nothing 
but  a  sensible  embodiment  of  this  ancient 
and  established  idea,  which  had  been 
familiar  to  the  patriarchs  from  the  earli- 
est ages  of  the  world.  To  this  ideal 
host,  though  ultimately  adumbrating 
men  rather  than  any  other  order  of  be- 
ings, yet  with  entire  propriety  they  as- 
signed the  title  of  angels.  That  these 
angelic  hosts  should  constitute  a  dis- 
tinguishing part  of  the  supernatural  ap- 
paratus of  the  present  scene  would  be  a 
matter  of  course  ;  and  nothing  would  be 
more  congruous  to  scriptural  usage  than 
to  ascribe  to  them  a  special  agency  or 
execution  on  the  occasion,  from  their  be- 
ing present,  consenting,  and  cooperating 
with  the  divine  Lawgiver.  It  is  ascribed 
to  them  on  the  same  grounds  on  which 
Paul  affirms  that  the  saints  shall  judge 
tlie  world,  by  which  at  the  same  time 
nothing  more  is  meant  than  that  they 
shall  be  coinciding  assessors  with  the 
great  Judge  himself.  That  this  New 
Testament  mode  of  speaking  of  the  de- 
livery of  the  Law  is  warranted  by  the 
usus  loquendi  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
will  be  evident  from  the  following  cita- 
tions. Deut.  33.  2,  '  The  Lord  came 
from  Sinai,  and  rose  up  from  Seir  unto 
them ;  he  shined  forth  from  mount  Pa- 
ran,  and  he  came  with  ten  thousands  of 
saints:  from  his  right  liand  went  a  fiery- 
law  for  them.'  Here  the  '  ten  tliousands 
of  saints'  are  ten  thousands  oi  holy  ones 
or  holy  myriads  (IJIp  T^D^lTS  vuribhoth 
kodesh),'  and  this  is  but  another  name 
for  angels.  Thus  also  Ps.  68.  7,  8—17,  'O 
God,  when  thou  wentest  forth  before  thy 
people,  when  thou  didst  march  through 
the  wilderness;  The  earth  shook,  the 
heavens  also  dropped  at  the  presence 
of  God  :  even  Sinai  itself  was  moved  at 
the  presence  of  God,  the  God  of  Israel. 
The  chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thou- 
sand, even  thousands  of  angels:  the  Lord 
is  among  them,  as  iti  Sinai,  in  the  holy 
place. ^  This,  taken  in  its  connexions,  is 


B.  C.  1491.1 


CHA.PTER  XX. 


257 


CHAPTER  XX. 
A  ND  God  spake  aall  these  words, 
■^  saying, 
2  b  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  which 

a  Deut.  5.  22.     b  Lev.  26.  1,  13.    Deut.  5.  6. 
Ps.  81.  10.    Hos.  13.  4. 


a  very  remarkable  passage,  and  that  it 
has  an  intimate  relation  to  the  subject 
before,  is  obvious  at  once.  The  original 
for  '  chariots'  (H^I  rekeb)  is  a  collective 
singular  for  <  chariots,'  and  has  an  evi- 
dent allusion  to  the  same  kind  of  sym- 
bolic scenery  as  that  described  in  the  vi- 
sion of  Ezckiel,  where  the  Living  Crea- 
tures or  Cherubim  are  represented  as 
forming  a  sort  of  animated  chariot  on 
which  the  Jehovah  in  the  visible  She- 
kinah  was  transported.  The  twenty 
thousand  chariots  of  God,  therefore,  is 
but  another  name  for  twenty  thousand 
angels  supposed  to  be  jiresent  at  the 
giving  of  the  Law  from  Sinai,  on  which, 
as  on  a  living  throne,  the  Glory  was  sup- 
ported. This  reminds  us  at  once  of  the 
parallel  language  of  the  iSth  Psalm, 
wliich  is  penned  in  the  highest  style  of 
sanctified  poetic  afflatus,  and  which  no 
doubt  refers  to  the  very  scene  at  Sinai 
now  under  consideration.  For  although 
David  is  the  speaker,  yet  he  speaks  in 
the  person  of  the  Jewish  church,  whose 
historical  fortunes  from  the  beginning 
are  depicted  in  the  boldest  imagery  of 
inspiration;  Ps.  18.  7—11,  'Then  the 
earth  shook  and  trembled ;  the  founda- 
tions also  of  the  hills  moved  and  were 
shaken,  because  he  w^as  wroth.  There 
went  up  a  smoke  out  of  his  nostrils,  and 
fire  out  of  his  mouth  devoured:  coals 
were  kindled  by  it.  He  bowed  the 
heavens  also,  and  came  down :  and  dark- 
ness was  under  his  feet.  And  he  rode 
upon  a  cherub  and  did  fly:  yea,  he  did 
fly  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind.  He 
made  darkness  his  secret  place  ;  his  pa- 
vilion round  about  him  were  dark  wa- 
ters and  thick  clouds  of  the  skies.'  That 
is,  such  dark,  lowering,  gloomy  clouds 
as  are  usually  surcharged  with  waters 
22» 


have  brought  thee  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  c  out  of  the  house  of  bon- 
dage. 

c  ch.  13.  3. 


that  in  a  time  of  tempest  pour  them- 
selves out  in  gushing  torrents.  'He  rode 
upon  a  cherub ;'  that  is,  collectively, 
upon  the  Cherubim,  constituting  the 
Cherubic  vehicle  above  mentioned.  Fi- 
nally we  may  advert  to  the  testimony  of 
Philo  (Lib.  de  Decalogo),  who  says  that 
'  there  were  present  at  the  giving  of 
the  Law  voices  ;  visible,  animated,  and 
splendid  flames  of  fire  ;  spirits  {irvev- 
jiaTd)  ;  trumpets;  and  divine  men  run- 
ning hither  and  thither  to  publish  the 
Law.' 

On  the  whole,  from  a  collation  of  the 
various  passages  now  adduced,  we  can- 
not but  think  the  phraseology  of  the 
Apostles  in  respect  to  the  event  in  ques- 
tion is  explicable  in  entire  consistency 
with  the  Mosaic  narrative  ;  and  it  only 
adds  another  proof  of  the  vast  import- 
ance of  a  correct  view  of  the  Shekinah 
to  a  right  understanding  of  this  and 
other  portions  of  the  Scriptures. 

1.  And  God  spake  all  these  words. 
Heb.  ,1^55  d'^'',mn  is  kol  haddebarim 
elleh.  That  is,  the  words  or  command- 
ments following,  called  '  ten  command- 
ments (C^DT  debar im,  words), ^  Ex. 
34.  28.  Deut.  4.  13,  whence  the  title 
'  Decalogue,'  or  ten  ivords,  and  '  the 
voice  of  words,'  Heb.  12.  19.  That 
'  words'  and  '  precepts,'  or  '  command- 
ments,' are  equivalent  in  Scripture 
usage,  is  evident  from  the  following 
passages  ;  Deut.  18.  19,  '  I  will  raise 
them  up  a  Prophet  from  among  their 
brethren,  like  unto  thee,  and  will  put 
my  words  in  his  mouth ;  and  he  shall 
speak  unto  them  all  that  I  shall  com- 
mand him.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  whosoever  will  not  hearken  unto 
my  words  which  he  shall  speak  in 
my  name,   I  will  require  it  of  himj' 


358 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


i.  e.  whosoever  will  not  hearken  unto 
my  precepts.  Gal.  5.  14,  'For  all  the 
law  is  fullilled  in  one  word;'  i.  e.  in 
one  commandment,  viz.  that  thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.  Est.  1. 
12,  '  But  the  queen  Vashti  refused  to 
come  at  the  king's  commandment  (Heb. 
^P?2n  "ID"!;  bidbar  hainmelek,  at  the 
king's  word).'  Thus  Mark,  7.  13,  'Mak- 
ing the  word  of  God  of  none  elleet  ;' 
while  Mat.  15.  6,  'Made  tlie  command- 
ment of  God  of  none  effect.'  It  would 
not  perhaps  be  easy,  from  the  letter  of 
the  present  narrative,  to  establish  con- 
clusively the  fact  that  these  words 
were  spoken  by  the  Most  High  in  an 
articulate  voice  ;  as  it  might  be  main- 
tained that  they  were  spoken  to  Moses, 
and  by  him,  as  mediator,  communicated 
to  the  people.  But  upon  comparing 
other  passages  where  this  event  is 
spoken  of,  the  evidence,  we  think,  is 
too  strong  to  be  resisted,  that  in  de- 
livering the  Decalogue,  God  himself 
was  the  speaker.  Thus,  Deut.  5. 12, 13, 
'And  the  Lord  spake  unto  you  out  of 
the  midst  of  the  fire  :  ye  heard  the  voice 
of  the  words,  but  saw  no  similitude  ; 
only  ye  heard  a  voice.  And  he  de- 
clared unto  you  his  covenant,  which  he 
commanded  you  to  perform,  even  ten 
commandments  ;  and  he  wrote  them 
upon  two  tables  of  stone.'  Again,  in 
ver.  32,  33,  of  the  same  chapter,  the 
language  forces  upon  us  the  same  con- 
clusion ;  'For  ask  now  of  the  days  that 
are  past,  which  were  before  thee,  since 
the  day  that  God  created  man  upon  the 
earth,  and  ask  from  the  one  side  of 
heaven  unto  the  other,  whether  there 
hath  been  any  such  thing  as  this  great 
thing  is;  or  hath  been  heard  like  it  ? 
Did  ever  people  hear  the  voice  of  God 
speaking  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire,  as 
thou  hast  heard,  and  live  V  Add  to  this, 
that  it  is  by  no  means  certain,  from  an 
attentive  survey  of  all  the  circum- 
stances, tliat  Moses  was  on  the  mount 
during  the  delivery  of  the  Decalogue. 
It  would  seem  then,  that  if  the  Law 


was  spoken  in  an  audible  voice  at  all  it 
must  have  been  by  God  himself. 

PREFACE  TO  THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS. 

2.  lam  the  Lord  thy  God,  &c.  Heb. 
']'^nb!!<  nin">  Yehovah  Elohika,  Jeho- 
vah thine  Elohim.  As  these  words  con- 
tain nothing  of  a  preceptive  nature,  they 
are  undoubtedly  to  be  considered  as  a 
kind  of  preface  to  the  ensuing  Com- 
mandments, embracing  a  declaration  of 
the  grounds  on  wliich  their  authority 
rests.  The  Most  High  in  proclaiming 
his  august  name  Jehovah,  does  thereby 
most  imperatively  assert  his  claim  to 
the  obedience  of  all  rational  creatures 
to  wliatever  he  should  enjoin  upon  them. 
As  'Jehovah,'  the  self-existent,  inde- 
pendent, eternal  fountain  of  all  being, 
he  has  of  course  the  most  absolute  right 
to  give  law  to  the  creatures  he  has 
formed.  Such  a  right  flows  by  self- 
evident  sequence  from  the  very  relation 
of  Creator  and  creature.  He  who  gives 
being  may  give  law ;  and  no  greater 
extrinsic  sanction  can  be  conceived  to 
any  code  of  laws  than  the  supremacy, 
sovereignty,  majesty,  preeminence,  and 
power  of  the  source  from  which  it  ema- 
nates ;  and  all  this  is  implied  in  the 
very  name  '  Jehovah.'  It  is,  conse- 
quently, a  ground  of  obligation  which 
applies  to  the  Avhole  human  race,  as 
well  as  to  the  nation  of  Israel  ;  but  in 
the  accompanying  title  'thy  God,'  there 
is  a  virtual  restriction  which  brings 
home  to  the  Israelites  the  import  of  the 
declaration  with  an  emphasis  and  force 
which  no  other  people  could  feel  in  the 
same  degree.  'I  am  the  Lord  thy  God, 
which  brought  thee  out  of  Egypt,'  are 
words  containing  a  motive  to  obedience 
peculiar  to  the  seed  of  Jacob,  and  one 
of  which  they  were  justly  expected  to 
feel  the  cogency.  God  was  not  only 
their  God  as  Creator,  but  theirs  by  cove- 
nant relation,  and  by  the  signal  deliver- 
ance wrought  in  their  behalf.  From 
whom  then  might  he  look  for  obedi- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


259 


3  ^  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods 
before  me. 


dDeut.  5. ' 
6.  &  35.  15. 


&  6.  14.  2  Kings  17. 35.  Jer.  25. 


ence,  if  not  from  them?  If  blessed  is 
the  nation  whose  God  is  the  Lord,  and 
the  people  whom  he  hath  chosen  for  his 
own  inheritance,'  how  utterly  inexcus- 
able must  be  their  disobedience  to  the 
mandates  of  their  great  Lawgiver  ?  We 
have  not  indeed  been  delivered  from 
the  literal  bondage  of  Egypt,  but  the 
spirit  of  the  declaration  reaches  to  us, 
if  Christians,  as  redeemed  by  Christ 
from  a  bondage  infinitely  worse,  and 
incorporated  by  faith  into  the  true  Is- 
rael of  God,  the  spiritual  seed  of  Abra- 
ham, and  made  heirs  of  all  the  blessings 
of  the  covenant  of  grace.  Consequently, 
as  the  Lord  is  our  God,  we  are  bound 
by  the  same  inviolable  bonds  of  love  and 
service  as  rested  upon  the  seed  of  Israel 
according  to  the  flesh.  It  is  to  be  re- 
marked, both  here  and  elsewhere, 
throughout  the  Decalogue,  that  the  ad- 
dress is  made  in  the  singular  and  not 
in  the  plural  number.  The  design  of 
this  is,  undoubtedly,  to  render  the  lan- 
guage in  the  highest  degree  emphatic. 
Every  individual  to  whom  this  law 
comes  is  to  consider  himself  as  being 
as  directly  and  personally  addressed  as 
though  it  had  been  spoken  to  him  alone. 
'  Thou  art  the  man.'  In  the  present 
passage,  as  the  assurance  conveyed  is 
intended  to  be  appropriated  by  each  in- 
dividual to  himself  personally,  it  is  full 
of  condescending  endearment ;  and  the 
proper  response  to  is  furnished  by  the 
prophet,  Zech.  13.  9,  'I  will  say  it  is  my 
people  ;  and  they  shall  say.  The  Lord 

is  my  God  ;'  not  our. IT  Out  of  the 

house  of  bondage.  Heb.  tj^^lD^  n^D?2 
mibbtth  abadim,  out  of  the  house  of 
slaves;  i.  e.  out  of  the  house  where  they 
themselves  were  slaves,  and  not  the 
Egyptians  ;  for  although  we  cannot 
doubt  that  a  large  part  of  the  Egyptian 
population  was  in  a  very  degraded  state, 


4  e  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee 
any  graven  image,  or  any  likeness 


e  Lev.  26. 1. 
Ps.97.  7. 


Deut.4.  16.  <fe5.8.  &  27.  15. 


a  state  of  vassalage  and  depression,  yet 
that  is  not  the  allusion  in  the  present 
passage.  The  words  refer  solely  to  the 
servile  condition  of  the  Israelites  dur- 
ing their  sojourn  in  the  land  of  Egypt  •, 
and  their  wonderful  deliverance  thence 
by  the  outstretched  arm  of  Jehovah,  is 
very  properly  insisted  upon  as  a  ground 
for  the  cordial  reception  of  the  moral 
and  ceremonial  statutes  which  he  was 
now  imposing  upon  them.  The  motive 
to  obedience  involved  in  this  miraculous 
interposition  is  still  more  emphatically 
dwelt  upon  Deut.  6.  20 — 24,  'And  when 
thy  son  asketh  thee  in  time  to  come, 
saying.  What  mean  the  testimonies,  and 
the  statutes,  and  the  judgments,  which 
the  Lord  our  God  hath  commanded  you  ? 
Then  thou  shalt  say  unto  thy  son.  We 
were  Pharaoh's  bond-men  in  Egypt  ; 
and  the  Lord  brought  us  out  of  Egypt 
with  a  mighty  hand :  and  the  Lord 
showed  signs  and  wonders,  great  .and 
sore,  upon  Egypt,  upon  Pharaoh,  and 
upon  all  his  household,  before  our  eyes: 
And  he  brought  us  out  from  thence, 
that  he  might  bring  us  in,  to  give  us 
the  land  which  he  sware  unto  our  fa- 
thers. And  the  Lord  commanded  us  to 
do  all  these  statutes,  to  fear  the  Lord 
our  God,  for  our  good  always,  that  he 
might  preserve  us  alive,  as  it  is  at  this 
day.' 

FIRST  TABLE. 

THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT. 

3.  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  be- 
fore me.  Heb.  'D^-I^K  l^)i  ."T^H^  nd 
■^25  ^3>  B'^'ins^  lo  yihyeh  leka  Elo- 
him  aharim  al  panai,  there  shall  not  be 
to  thee  other  gods  upon  or  against  my 
face;  i.  e.  in  my  sight,  boldly  confront- 
ing me.  Chal.  'There  sliall  not  be  to 
thee    another  god    besides    me.'      Gr 


260 


EXODUS. 


[B.C.  1491. 


of  any  thing   that   is  in  heaven 
above,  or  that  is  in  the  earth  be- 


nvK    €o-i)rrni    (rot     Oeoi     Ircpoi     rr^nv    ej.ioVj 

there  shall  not  he  to  thee  other  gods  be- 
sides me.  But  the  Heb.  ^05  i>3>  no  where 
properly  signifies  besides  or  except,  but 
always  before,  in  the  presence  of.  The 
scope  of  the  precept  is  evidently  to 
make  known  the  true  and  only  object 
of  worship,  and  to  forbid  tlie  annexing 
of  any  other  object  of  religious  rever- 
ence, respect,  and  homage  to  that  which 
they  were  exclusively  required  to  serve. 
It  requires  a  conduct  accordant  with  the 
declaration  of  Jehovah  himself,  Is.  42. 
8,  'My  glory  will  I  not  give  to  another.' 
The  language  does  not  necessarily  imply 
the  reality,  the  positive  existence,  of 
any  such  adventitious  deities,  but  they 
were  not  to  have  any  that  were  so  es- 
teemed; or  as  the  apostle  says,  1  Cor.  8. 
6,  6,  'Though  there  be  that  are  called 
gods,  whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth  (as 
there  are  gods  many  and  lords  many); 
but  to  us  there  is  but  one  God,  the  Fa- 
ther, of  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  in 
him.'  The  precept  does  not  seem  to 
be  directed  primarily  and  immediately 
against  that  idolatry  which  consists  in 
the  use  of  fabricated  images,  although 
this  is  virtually  forbidden,  but  against 
the  putting  any  thing  else  in  the  place 
of  the  one  living  and  true  God.  This 
may  be  done  mentally  as  well  as  manu- 
ally. There  may  be  idolatry  without 
idols  ;  and  the  scope  of  this  command- 
ment seems  to  be  mainly  to  forbid  the 
making  of  any  other  objects,  wlietlier 
persons  or  things,  real  or  imaginary, 
the  objects  of  that  supreme  regard,  rev- 
erence, esteem,  affection,  and  obedience 
which  we  owe  to  God  alone.  As  God 
is  the  fountain  of  happiness,  and  no  in- 
telligent being  can  be  happy  but  through 
him,  whoever  seeks  for  supreme  happi- 
ness in  the  creature  instead  of  the  Crea- 
tor, is  guilty  of  a  violation  of  this  com- 
mand. Whatever  it  be  that  sets  up  a 
rival  interest  in  our  souls,  absorbing 


neath,  or  that  is  in  the  water  under 
the  earth. 


that  love  and  service  which  belongs  to 
the  true  God,  that  is  another  God  before 
him.  Consequently,  the  proud  man,  who 
idolizes  himself;  the  ambitious  man, 
who  pays  homage  to  popular  applause  ; 
the  covetous  man,  who  deifies  his 
wealth  ;  the  sensualist,  Avho  lives  to 
gratify  his  low  appetites  ;  the  doling 
lover,  husband,  father,  mother,  who  suf- 
fer their  hearts  to  be  supremely  ab- 
sorbed in  the  love  of  the  creature,  all 
come  under  the  charge  of  transgressing 
the  first  commandment.  In  fact  obe- 
dience to  this  precept  would  perfectly 
enthrone  the  Lord  in  our  judgment  and 
affections  ;  and  the  strength  of  our  love 
being  thus  given  to  him,  we  should  love 
all  others  for  his  sake,  and  according 
to  the  measure  that  he  had  enjoined ; 
whilst  the  violation  of  it  destroys  this 
subordination,  and  gives  the  creature 
the  throne  in  our  heart.  With  the  ut- 
most propriety  therefore  does  it  stand 
foremost  in  the  tables  of  the  Decalogue. 
It  is  the  foundation  of  all  the  rest. 

THE    SECOND    COMMANDME>'T. 

4.  Thoti  shall  not  make  unto  thee,  &c. 
The  second  commandment,  comprised 
in  V.  4 — 6,  differs  from  the  first  by  hav- 
ing respect  to  the  mode  of  worship  rather 
than  the  object.  It  consists  of  two  parts, 
a  precept  and  a  sanction.  The  precept 
forbids  the  making  of  any  sculptured  or 
painted  images  of  any  object  in  heaven 
or  earth,  to  be  employed  in  religious 
worship.  Nothing  was  to  be  attempted 
of  the  nature  of  a  likeness  or  sensible 
representation  of  the  invisible  Deity, 
nothing  constructed  or  portrayed  which 
should  stand  as  an  arbitrary  symbol  of 
Jehovah,  who  was  to  be  worshipped  as 
a  pure  intelligent  spirit,  infinitely  re- 
moved beyond  the  possibility  of  any 
material  representation.  Aware  of  the 
strong  idolatrous  tendency  in  human 
nature,  and  with  a  view  to  preclude  its 


B.  C.  1491. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


261 


breaking  forth  among  the  chosen  people 
the  Most  High  took  especial  care  in  his 
manifestation  at  Mount  Sinai  that  the 
Israelites  should  see  '  no  manner  of 
similitude,'  nolliing  that  could  after- 
ward be  represented  by  an  image.  This 
is  particulurl}'-  adverted  to  in  the  subse- 
quent account  of  that  transaction,  Deut. 
4.  12 — 15  —  23,  which  forms  the  most 
suitable  commentary  on  the  precept  be- 
fore us ;  'And  the  Lord  spake  unto  you 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire ;  ye  heard 
the  voice  of  the  words,  but  saw  no  simi- 
litude; only  ye  heard  a  voice.  Take  ye 
therefore  good  heed  unto  yourselves ; 
(for  ye  saw  no  manner  of  similitude  on 
the  day  that  the  Lord  spake  unto  you  in 
Horeb  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire) ;  lest 
ye  corrupt  yourselves,  and  make  you  a 
graven  image,  the  similitude  of  any 
figure,  the  likeness  of  male  or  female. 
The  likeness  of  any  beast  that  is  on  the 
earth,  the  likeness  of  any  winged  fowl 
that  flieth  in  the  air.  The  likeness  of 
any  thing  that  creepeth  on  the  ground, 
the  likeness  of  any  fish  that  is  in  the 
waters  beneath  the  earth :  Take  heed 
unto  yourselves,  lest  ye  forget  the  co- 
venant of  the  Lord  your  God,  which  he 
made  with  you,  and  make  you  a  graven 
image, o^  the  likeness  of  any  thing  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  hath  forbidden  thee.' 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  from  the  un- 
qualified language  of  the  prohibition, 
that  sculpture  or  painting  as  branches  of 
the  fine  arts  are  forbidden,  although 
the  Jews  have  for  the  most  part  been 
restrained  by  this  commandment  from 
indulging  themselves  to  any  extent  in 
the  mimetic  arts.  On  this  subject  the 
language  of  Michaelis  (Comment,  on 
the  Laws  of  Moses,  Art.  2.50)  is  worthy 
of  being  quoted  ;  'I  know  not  how  it 
has  ha])pened  that  several  writers,  and 
among  them  some  men  of  real  learning, 
have  persuaded  themselves,  or  have, 
without  inquiry,  asserted,  one  after  an- 
other, that  the  Israelites  were  absolute- 
ly prohibited  from  making,  or  having 
any  image  whatever,  even  although  it 


had  not  the  most  distant  reference  to 
the  Deity,  or  to  religion.  But  let  us 
consider  the  passages  in  which  Moses 
proliihits  images,  in  tlieir  connexion 
with  the  context,  and  see  whether  any 
such  exposition  ought  to  be  given  them: 
We  find  them  (for  I  think  it  best  to 
point  tliem  all  out  together)  in  Ex.  20. 
4,5.  Deut.4.  15— 18;  27.15.  Now,  from 
the  connexion,  it  is  evident,  that  images 
of  the  Deity  are  alone  spoken  of  in  all 
these  passages  ;  and  the  man,  who,  from 
the  detached  clause.  Thou  shall  make 
to  thyself  no  image,  concludes,  that 
no  image  durst  have  been  painted,  or 
scrawled  upon  a  rock,  or  cut  in  wood 
or  stone,  might,  with  equal  reason,  de- 
tach from  their  connexion  the  following 
words,  which  come  immediately  after 
the  prohibition  of  images.  Thou  shall 
not  raise  thine  eyes  to  heaven  to  behold 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  and  understand 
them  as  meant  to  imply,  that  we  were 
never  to  raise  our  eyes  to  heaven  and 
contemplate  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
but  rather  to  walk  upon  all  fours  for 
ever.'  The  scope  of  the  precept  is  evi- 
dently to  forbid  tlie  use  of  those  imaged 
and  pictured  likenesses  as  representa- 
tions of  the  invisible  God.  The  inten- 
tion of  the  law  is  obvious  from  the  rea- 
son assigned  for  it,  viz.,  that  they  had 
seen  *  no  manner  of  similitude'  when 
God  appeared  and  delivered  the  Deca- 
logue at  Horeb.  As  he  did  not  appear 
to  them  in  any  shape,  so  he  ought  not 
to  be  represented  in  any  shape.  But  this 
reason  does  not  hold  against  the  mak- 
ing graven  images  of  men,  beasts,  birds, 
fishes,  or  reptiles,  when  they  were  not 
intended  as  representations  of  God,  or 
to  be  used  as  objects  or  means  of  wor- 
ship. Accordingly  Moses  was  express- 
ly commanded  to  construct  the  figures 
of  the  Cherubim  of  the  sculjitured  work 
for  thei  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  Ex.  25. 
18 — 20f  and  also  the  brazen  serjient  as 
an  emblematic  device  to  aid  in  the  pro- 
duction of  a  salutary  eflect  on  the  bodies 
of  the  bitten  Israelites  in  the  wilder. 


262 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


ness,  Num.  2S.  8, 9.  It  is  certain,  more- 
over, that  in  the  Temple  of  Solomon 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  sculptured 
work  over  the  walls,  as  of  flowers  colo- 
cynths,  palm-trees,  cherubim,  &c.,  and 
the  brazen  sea,  it  is  well  known  rested 
upon  twelve  brazen  oxen.  In  neither  of 
these  cases  was  there  any  infraction  of 
the  second  commandment,  because  the 
desigji  of  these  images  did  not  come 
within  the  scope  of  its  prohibition.  But 
the  making  of  the  gol  Jen  calf  by  the  Is- 
raelites in  the  wilderness  was  in  the 
most  direct  contravention  of  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  this  precept,  although  pro- 
fessedly set  up  in  honor  of  the  true  God, 
and  was  what  the  Scriptures  expressly 
call  idolatry,  Acts,  7.  41,  'They  made 
a  calf  in  those  days  and  offered  sacrifice 
unto  the  idol  (rw  ciJcoXw).'  1-Cor.  10. 
7,  'Neither  be  ye  idolaters  as  some  of 
them  were  ;  as  it  is  written,  The  people 
sat  down  to  eat,  and  to  drink,  and  rose 
up  to  play.'  In  like  manner  when  Jero- 
boam set  up  his  calves  of  gold  and  pro- 
claimed to  the  people,  'Behold  thy  gods, 
O  Israel,  which  brought  thee  up  out  of 
Egypt,'  he  was  guilty  of  the  very  sin 
forbidden  in  the  second  commandment. 
That  this  was  the  idolatry  condemned 
in  this  commandment,  viz.,  worshipping 
the  images  of  the  true  God,  and  not  the 
worship  of  a  false  god,  which  is  more 
especially  pointed  at  in  the  first,  is  evi- 
dent from  this,  that  his  sin  is  said  to  be 
less  than  the  sin  of  worshipping  the  im- 
age of  Baal,  1  Kings,  16.  31,  where  we 
read  that  '  it  came  to  pass,  as  if  it  had 
been  a  light  thing  for  Ahab  to  walk  in 
the  sins  of  Jeroboam  that  he  went  and 
served  Baal  and  worshipped  him ;'  and 
so  in  the  language  of  the  first  command- 
ment, '  had  another  god  before  Jehovah,' 
which  Jeroboam  had  not,  because  he 
worshipped  his  idols  as  images  of  the 
true  God.  This  we  suppose  to  be  a  lead- 
ing distinction  between  the  first  and  se- 
cond precept  of  the  law.  But  the  spirit- 
ual import  of  this  commandment  reaches 
much  farther.    It  goes  unequivocally  to 


forbid  all  superstitious  usages,  all  mere 
human  inventions,  in  the  matter  of  di- 
vine worship.  The  annexing  of  addi- 
tions of  our  own  to  the  institutions  of 
heaven  under  the  pretext  of  their  being 
significant  ceremonies  calculated  to  ex- 
cite devotion  or  better  to  })romote  the 
ends  of  worship,  is  nothing  short  of 
a  bold  innovation  upon  the  prescribed 
worship  of  God.  Deut.  12.  30,  'What 
thing  soever  I  command  you,  observe  to 
do  it  ;  thou  shalt  not  add  thereto,  nor 
diminish  from  it.'  This  principle  ac- 
cordingly condemns  all  such  command- 
ed practices  as  signing  with  the  cross 
in  baptism,  kneeling  at  the  sacrament, 
erecting  altars  in  churches,  bowing  at 
the  name  of  Jesus,  and  other  things  of 
like  nature,  for  which  the  Scriptures 
contain  no  express  warrant.  The  bare 
adoption  of  such  usages  no  doubt  trench- 
es in  some  degree  upon  tlie  spirit  of  this 
commandment ;  but  to  insist  upon  them 
as  terms  of-communion  is  nothing  short 
of  a  downright  invasion  of  the  prerog- 
ative of  the  divine  Lawgiver,  and  must 
incur  his  marked  displeasure.  In  the 
minor  circumstances  of  religious  wor- 
ship no  doubt  many  things  are  left  to 
be  regulated  by  the  dictates  of  human 
discretion,  and  in  these  the  apostolic 
rule,  '  let  every  thing  be  done  decently 
and  in  order,'  will  always  be  a  sufficient 
guide ;  but  whenever  this  rule  is  made 
a  plea  for  imposing  things  uncommand- 
ed,  then  a  plain  infraction  is  made  upon 

the  spirit  of  this  precept. IT  Graven 

image.  Heb,  ^D2  pesel,  sculptile,  any 
thing  cut,  graven,  or  carved,  a  statue, 
from  the  root  ^D5  pasal,  to  hew,  to  chip, 
to  sculpture,  whether  w-ood  or  stone. 
Gr.  £((?f,iAoi/,  an  idol.    Chal.  'An  image.' 

IT  Likeness.  Heb.  n^lTCtl  temunah, 

likeness,  similitude.  The  term  is  quite 
gf^neral  in  its  import,  carrying  with  it 
mainly  the  idea  of  resemblance,  but 
whether  this  resemblance  is  the  result 
of  configuration  or  delineation  is  not  de- 
termined by  the  word  alone.  As  the 
previous  term  ^D5  pesel,  more  strictly 


B.  C.  1491.J 


CHAPTER  XX. 


263 


5  f  Thou  shall  not  bow  down  thy- 
self to  them,  nor  serve  them  ;  for  I 
the  Lord  thy  God  am  a  s  jealous 


f  ch.  23.  24.  Josh.  23.  7.  2  Kings  17.  35. 
Isai.  44.  15, 19.  S  cli.  34.  14.  Deut.  4.  24.  <fe 
6.13.    Josh.  24.  19.    Neh.  1.  2. 


denotes  statuary^  it  will  no  doubt  be 
proper  here  to  understand  HDIlon  te- 
munah  of  any  kind  of  pictorial  repre- 
sentation whether  of  real  or  fancied  ob- 
jects, which  might  serve  as  the  instru- 
ments of  worship. 

6.  Thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to 
them.  Heb.  Dn^  Hinrr^n  nb  lo  tish- 
tahaveh  lahem,  shalt  not  do  obeisance  to 
them.  Gr.  ov  npoiKvvri(T£ii  avToi^ J  shall  not 
worship  them,  a  term  applied  to  those 
bodily  gestures,  such  as  bowing,  kneel- 
ing, falling  prostrate,  &c.,  which  are 
used  as  tokens  of  special  reverence  and 
respect.  See  Note  on  Gen.  IS.  2.  Though 
they  might  not  make  nor  have  such  im- 
ages themselves  or  in  their  own  coun- 
try, yet  possibly  they  might  see  them 
in  passing  through  other  lands,  in  which 
case  they  were  required  carefully  to  re- 
frain from  bowing  down  to  them,  or 
using  any  gesture  which  might  be  con- 
strued into  an  act  of  religious  rever- 
ence, or  as  in  any  degree  countenancing 

a  practice  so  expressly  forbidden. 

TT  Nor  serve  them.  Heb.  D~33>n  taob- 
dem.  Gr.  fir)  XarpcixTtt^  a^jrot^^  nor  do' 
homage  to  them.  If  they  were  forbidden 
to  make  or  to  acknowledge  by  the  most 
casual  outward  gesture  any  such  images, 
much  less  were  they  to  go  so  far  as  to 
serve  them,  or  unite  with  those  that  did, 
either  hy  offering  sacrifice,  burning  in- 
cense, pouring  out  libations,  making 
vows,  building  altars,  consecrating  tem- 
ples, or  any  other  act  of  equivalent  im- 
port. The  s))irit  of  this  second  com- 
mandment, like  that  of  the  whole  Deca- 
logue, is  plainly  '  exceeding  broad.'  It 
is  undoubtedly  implied  that  in  paying 
our  devotion  to  the  true  God  we  are  not 
to  employ  any  image  or  likeness  for  the 


God,  'MMsilini^  the  iniquity  of  the 
fathers  u])on  the  children  unto  the 
third  and  fourth  generation  of  them 
that  hate  me ; 

hcli..S4.7.  Lev.20.  5.  &  20.39,40.  Numb. 
14.  IH,  33.  1  Kings  21.  29.  Job  5.  4.  &  21.  19. 
I's.  79.  8.  &  109.  4.  Isai.  14.  20,  21.  &  ti5.  6,  7. 
Jer.  2.  9.  &.  32.  18. 

purpose  of  directing,  exciting,  or  assist- 
ing that  devotion.  Though  it  were  wor- 
sliip  designed  to  terminate  in  God,  yet 
its  being  otlered  through  sucii  a  medium 
would  divest  it  of  all  its  acceptableness 
in  his  sight.  Guided  solely  by  the  dic- 
tates of  our  erring  reason,  we  might 
suppose  that  the  aid  of  bodily  sense 
might  be  called  in  to  assist  our  mental 
vision,  and  that  the  use  of  images, 
paintings,  crucifixes,  and  other  outward 
symbols  might  at  least  be  harmless,  if 
not  positively  beneficial  in  refreshing 
the  memory  and  quickening  our  devo- 
tions. But  God  knows  the  downward 
and  deteriorating  tendency  of  our  nature 
even  in  its  best  estate,  and  he  sees  that 
the  employment  of  outward  symbols  of 
worship  would  gradually  tend  to  lower 
the  standard  of  pious  feeling  and  finally 
to  withdraw  the  mind  from  the  ultimate 
spiritual  object,  and  fix  it  upon  the  gross 
sensible  medium.  We  have  only  to  look 
at  the  history  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
churches  for  an  abundant  confirmation 
of  this  view  of  the  subject.  How  pal- 
pable is  it  that  the  standard  of  a  pure 
and  spiritual  worship  is  there  most  sadly 
and  fearfully  degraded  ?  that  the  spirit  of 
devotion  has  been  lost  in  that  ol  down- 
right idolatry?  From  crosses  and  relics 
they  proceeded  to  images  and  pictures, 
not  only  of  God  and  Christ,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  but  of  the  virgin  and  of 
saints  and  martyrs  without  number ; 
until  those  beings,  and  the  paintings  or 
carvings  which  represented  them,  orig- 
inally designed  as  mere  intercessors  and 
aids  to  devotion,  became,  at  least  to  the 
more  ignorant,  actual  objects  of  wor- 
ship. Now  and  then  an  individual  may 
perhaps  be  found  exhibiting  a  depth  and 


264 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


fervor  of  pious  feeling  that  has  resisted 
all  these  untoward  influences.  But  in 
the  general,  what  superstition,  what 
profanation,  what  mockery,  under  the 
name  of  worship  there  prevail?  For- 
giveness of  sin  by  human  authority,  the 
withholding  the  Bible  from  the  people, 
and  tlie  grossest  immorality  among  large 
portions  of  the  priesthood  are  among  the 
fruits  known  and  read  of  all  men,  of  the 
practical  violation  of  the  second  com- 

maridmeat. IT    For  I  the  Lord  thy 

God  am  a  jealous  God,  &c.  We  have 
thus  far  considered  the  precept  of  the 
Second  Commandment ;  the  words  be- 
fore us  bring  us  to  its  sanction.  This 
is  drawn  from  the  nature  of  God,  and 
the  words  very  strikingly  exhibit  the 
peculiar  feeling  with  which  Jehovah  re- 
gards all  rivalry  in  the  affections  and 
homage  of  his  subjects.  This  feeling 
is  here  called  'jealousy,'  implying  a 
peculiar  sensitiveness  to  every  thing 
that  threatens  to  trench  upon  the  honor, 
reverence,  and  esteem  that  he  knows  to 
be  due  to  himself.  The  term  will  ap- 
pear still  more  significant  if  it  be  borne 
in  mind  that  idolatry  in  the  Scriptures 
is  frequently  spoken  of  as  spiritual  adul- 
tery, and  as  '  jealousy  is  the  rage  of  a 
man.'  so  nothing  can  more  fitly  express 
the  divine  indignation  against  this  sin 
than  the  term  in  question.  Those  senti- 
ments therefore  which  are  naturally 
awakened  by  the  infidelity  and  treach- 
ery of  an  espoused  wife  towards  her 
husband  are   strongly  appealed  to   by 

the  use  of  this  language. IT   Visiting 

the  iniquity  of  the  fathers,  &c.  '  It  is 
universally  believed  that  children  suffer 
for  the  iniquities  of  their  ancestors, 
through  many  generations.  '  I  wonder 
why  Tamhan's  son  was  born  a  cri])ple?' 
— '  You  wonder  !  why,  that  is  a  strange 
thing  ;  have  you  not  heard  what  a  vile 
man  his  grandfather  was?'  'Have  you 
heard  that  Valen  has  had  a  son,  and  that 
he  is  born  blind  V — '  I  did  not  hear  of 
it,  but  this  is  anotlier  proof  of  the  sins 
of  a  former  birth.'    'What  a  wicked 


■wretch  that  Venasi  is  !  alas  for  his  pos- 
terity, great  will  be  their  sufferings.' 
'Evil  one,  why  are  you  going  on  in  this 
way  ;  have  you  no  pity  for  your  seed?' 
'Alas  !  alas  !  I  am  now  suffering  for  the 
sins  of  my  fathers.'  When  men  enjoy 
many  blessings,  it  is  common  to  say  of 
them,  'Yes,  yes,  they  are  enjoying  the 
good  deeds  of  their  fathers.'  'The  pros- 
perity of  my  house  arises  from  the  vir- 
tues of  my  forefathers.'  In  the  Scanda 
Purana  it  is  recorded,  'The  soul  is  sub- 
ject to  births,  deatlis,  and  sufferings. 
It  may  be  born  on  the  earth,  or  in  the 
sea.  It  may  also  appear  in  ether,  fire, 
or  air.  Souls  may  be  born  as  men,  as 
beasts  or  birds,  as  grass  or  trees,  as 
mountains  or  gods.'  By  these  we  are 
reminded  of  the  question,  'Who  did  sin, 
this  man  or  his  parents,  that  he  was 
born  blind?'  'Jesus  answered.  Neither 
hath  this  man  sinned,  nor  his  parents.' 
Roberts.  To  visit  iniquity  is  to  punish 
it ;  and  we  have  here  the  announcement 
of  a  general  principle  of  the  divine  ad- 
ministration or  an  established  ordermg 
of  providence,  viz.,  that  the  effects  both 
of  obedience  and  disobedience,  or  bless- 
ings and  curses,  remain  for  a  long  time 
after  the  original  actors  are  no  more. 
Universal  history  and  experience  clear- 
ly go  to  show  that  this  is  a  distinguish- 
ing character  of  the  divine  economy, 
and  tlie  sentence  is  shielded  from  all 
charge  of  injustice  by  the  terms  in  which 
it  is  couched — '  unto  the  third  and  fourth 
generation  of  them  that  hate  me  ;'  from 
which  it  is  obvious  that  the  children 
were  not  to  be  thus  punished  for  the 
sins  of  their  fathers  irrespective  o[  their 
own  conduct  and  deserts.  The  tokens 
of  the  divine  displeasure  were  to  flow 
along  the  line  of  those  who  continued 
the  haters  of  God,  as  all  idolaters  are 
plainly  considered  by  implication  to  be. 
This  sense  of  the  passage  is  distinctly 
recognized  in  the  Chal.  version  ;  'I  the 
Lord  thj'^  God  am  a  jealous  God  visiting 
the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
transgressing  children,  unto  the  third 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


265 


6  And  i  shewing  mercy  unto  thou- 
sands of  them  that  love  me,  and 
keep  my  commandments. 


■  ch.  34. 
11.28. 


Deut.  7.  9.    Ps.  69.  34.    Rom. 


and  fourth  generation,  of  those  who  hate 
me,  when  the  children  follow  the  ini- 
quities of  the  fathers.'  This  natural 
and  easy  construction  removes  any  ap- 
parent discrepancy  between  the  rule  of 
procedure  here  stated  and  that  affirm- 
ed, Ezek.  18.  20,  '  The  son  shall  not 
bear  tlie  iniquity  of  the  father;  neither 
sliall  the  father  bear  the  iniquity  of  the 
son  ;'  for  the  language  of  the  prophet  is 
to  be  understood  of  the  son  who  does 
not  tread  in  the  steps  of  his  wicked 
father  ;  whereas  the  threatening  in  this 
precept  respects  those  children  who  do 
follow  the  example  of  their  evil  parents. 
This  is  evident  from  their  being  said  to 
be  of  those  that  hate  God.  The  words 
as  originally  spoken  undoubtedly  had  a 
primary  reference  to  the  sin  of  idolatry, 
but  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  they  an- 
nounce a  general  principle,  to  wit,  that 
the  iniquities  and  vices  of  men  are  pun- 
ished in  their  posterity  ;  not  by  any  ar- 
bitrary enactment,  but  in  virtue  of  that 
constitution  of  things  which  God  has 
adopted,  and  so  framed,  that  children 
cannot  well  avoid  suffering  in  this 
world  in  consequence  of  the  misdeeds 
of  their  parents.  From  the  circum- 
stances in  which  they  are  placed  and 
the  influences  that  bear  upon  them,  it 
is  almost  inevitable  that  they  should  fall 
into  the  same  sinful  courses  with  their 
fathers,  and  if  so,  they  must  necessarily 
experience  the  same  punishments.  It 
is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  this 
threatening  has  respect  mainly  to  the 
temporal  effects  of  sin,  to  its  penal  con- 
seq>iences  in  the  present  life,  and  is  not 
to  be  considered  as  affecting  the  eternal 
salvation  of  individuals,  any  farther 
than  as  their  final  condition  depends  up- 
on their  personal  conduct  in  this  world. 


7  k  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name 
of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain :  for 
the  Lord  » will  not  hold  him  guilt- 
less that  taketh  his  name  in  vain. 

kch.23.  1.  Lev.  19.  12.  Deut.  5.  11.  Ps. 
15.4.     Matt.  5.  33.    iMic.6.  11. 

It  is  therefore  an  ordination  or  arrange- 
ment of  entire  equity,  and  one  too  which 
at  the  same  time  makes  a  strong  appeal 
to  the  parental  feelings  ;  as  it  repre. 
sents  the  destinies  of  their  descendants, 
for  weal  or  woe,  as  lodged  in  a  great 
measure  in  their  hands. 

6.  Shewing  mercy  unto  thousands, 
&c.  So  much  more  abundant  is  the 
Lord  in  mercy  than  in  wrath,  so  much 
more  congenial  to  his  nature  is  the  ex- 
ercise of  loving-kindness  than  punitive 
displeasure,  that  while  he  punishes  to 
the  third  and  fourth  generation,  he  sheus 
mercy  to  the  thousandth.  This  is  abund- 
antly exemplified  in  the  history  of  the 
posterity  of  Abraham,  who  were  des- 
tined, on  account  of  the  distinguished 
virtues  of  their  progenitor,  to  be  the 
most  illustrious  nation  on  earth  at  the 
distance  of  several  thousand  years  from 
his  time. 

THE  THIRD  COMMANDMENT. 

7.  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of 
the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain.  Heb.  J^J) 
itiirb  —  i^''^'ri  lo  tissa  —  lashshav,  thou 
shalt  not  take  up  (i.  e.  upon  thy  lips) 
the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  to  vanity, 
or  falsehood.  Vulg.  Non  assumes,  thou 
shalt  not  assume.  The  name  of  God 
signifies  primarily  any  word  or  expres- 
sion which  denotes  God  ;  any  title  or  epi- 
thet which  goes  to  distinguish  him  from 
all  other  beings.  Of  these  the  most  pecu- 
liar and  pregnant  is  perhaps  the  title  'Je- 
hovah,' implying  his  absolute,  eternal, 
and  immutable  existence.  But  besides 
this,  he  is  denoted  also  by  many  other 
appellations  of  distinctive  purport,  such 
as  'God,'  'the   Lord'  'the  Almii,Muy,' 

'  the  Most  High,'  '  the  Father,'  '  the 
Creator,'  '  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,'  &c., 


266 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


some  expressing  what  he  is  in  himself, 
and  some  his  relations  to  his  creatures. 
But  the  '  name'  of  God  is,  from  Scrip- 
tural usage,  generally  and  properly  un- 
derstood in  a  somewhat  wider  sense,  of 
every  thing  by  which  he  makes  himself 
known ,  and  so  including  not  only  his 
various  titles,  but  also  his  attributes, 
ordinances,  word,  and  works.  That  the 
leading  idea  of 'taking  the  name  of  God' 
in  this  place  is  swearing  by  it,  is  uni- 
versally conceded,  and  is  confirmed  by 
the  three  ancient  versions,  the  Chal., 
the  Syr.,  and  tlie  Arab.,  all  wliich  rend- 
er, 'Thou  shalt  not  swear  falsely  by  the 
name  of  the  Lord  thy  God.'  The  orig- 
inal term  t^l^L'  shav  signifies  both  ichat 
is  false  and  what  is  vain,  and  as  both 
senses  are  undoubtedly  to  be  included 
in  the  term,  it  lays  a  foundation  for  a 
twofold  view  of  the  prohibition  ;  for- 
bidding (1)  A\\  false  swearing,  all  per- 
jury, all  use  of  the  holy  name  of  God 
which  should  go  to  make  him  witness 
to  a  lie  ;  (2)  All  vain,  light,  frivolous 
swearing,  including  all  cursing  and 
swearing  in  common  conversation,  all 
blasphemy,  and  all  rash,  thoughtless, 
irreverent  use  of  the  titles  and  attri- 
butes of  Jehovah.  As  a  matter  of 
course,  the  worshippers  of  the  Most 
High  must  have  frequent  occasion  to 
mention  his  name,  and  the  scope  of  this 
commandment  is  to  inculcate  the  ut- 
most reverence  of  that  holy  name  which 
is  but  a  symbol  of  every  idea  that  can 
awaken  awe,  adoration,  fear,  and  hom- 
age, in  the  bosoms  of  men  or  angels. 
If  we  were  to  indicate  the  point  of  the 
prohibition  by  specifying  the  directly 
opposite  duty,  it  would  be  by  adducing 
the  words  of  the  prophet.  Is.  8.  13, 
'Sanctify  the  Lord  of  hosts  himself, 
and  let  him  be  your  fear  and  your  dread.' 
In  perfect  consistency,  however,  with 
the  tenor  of  this  precept,  appeals  maj' 
be  made  to  God,  on  suitable  occasions, 
in  the  form  of  judicial  oaths  taken  in 
confirmation  of  the  truth  of  our  state- 
ments.   The  example  of  Christ,  and  the 


declarations  of  the  apostles,  clearly  in- 
timate the  intrinsic  lawfulness  of  oaths, 
and  the  scope  of  the  third  command- 
ment is  primarily  to  inculcate  a  due  i 
degree  of  reverence  in  the  use  of  such  ' 
an  invocation  of  the  Deity.  An  oath 
is,  in  fact,  an  act  of  religious  worship, 
in  which  God  is  solemnly  called  upon 
to  witness  the  truth  of  the  affirmations 
made,  and  to  act  as  punisher  of  the 
crime  if  anj;^  perjury  is  committed.  It  \ 
imports  that  we  acknowledge  him  to 
be  the  infallible  searcher  of  hearts,  and 
the  powerful  and  stern  avenger  of  all 
falsehood,  fraud,  and  deceit  in  such  a 
solemn  transaction  ;  and  no  inference 
can  be  plainer  than  that  it  is  the  height  | 
of  irreligion  and  profanity  to  interpose  l 
that  awful  name  in  attestation  of  any 
thing  that  is  false,  fraudulent,  or  hypo- 
critical. The  rule  by  which  such  an 
act  is  to  be  governed  is  expressly  given, 
Jer.  4.  2,  '  Thou  shalt  swear  in  truth,  in  J 
judgment,  and  in  righteousness,'  and  1 
any  deviation  from  this  is  an  infraction 
of  the  precept  before  us,  and  though 
often  accounted  a  trivial  offence  among 
men,  yet  there  is  scarcely  a  more  atro- 
cious or  provoking  crime  in  the  sight 
ol'the  infinitely  true,  and  pure,  and  up- 
right Jehovah.  The  same  general  re- 
marks apply  also  to  vows  and  voluntary 
engagements,  which  we  assume  upon 
ourselves  and  solemnly  promise  to  ful- 
fil. To  invoke  the  holy  name  of  God 
on  such  occasions,  to  appeal  to  him  as 
the  omniscient  voucher  of  our  sincer- 
it}'-,  and  then  to  neglect,  slight,  or  vio- 
late the  obligations  we  have  incurred  is 
but  an  impious  mockery  of  the  majesty 
of  Jehovah,  which  he  will  not  fail  to 
punish. 

But  it  is,  perhaps,  in  common  dis- 
course that  this  command  is  most  fre- 
quently and  flagrantly  disregarded.  To 
say  nothing  of  downright  malignant 
blasphemy,  which  ha])pily  is  rare  in  a 
land  of  Bibles  and  churches,  and  the 
grosser  im};recations  which  often  assail 
the  ear  from  profane  and  impious  lips, 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


2G7 


the  practice  of  intorlan.liii<jf  our  convcr-  i 
sation  with   the  words  '  God,'  '  Lord,'  j 
'Christ,'   or  tlie  exprcs^sions  'the  Lord 
knows,'  'heaven  help  nie,'  without  ne-  I 
cossity,   seriousness,  or  reverence,   in-  ! 
Volvos  a  measure  of  the  guilt  of  trans-  i 
grossing  the  third  comniandnient.     Nor 
can  it  be  denied  that  profane  uriting  I 
is  open  to  the  same  charge  with  profane  I 
speaking.     In  the  statomont  of  matters  j 
of  fact  by  way  of  testimony,  the  use  of 
irreverent  expressions   may  indeed   be 
allowable,  but  nothing  is  more  common 
than  for  writers  of  fiction   to   put  the 
most  revoking  oaths  into  the  mouths  of 
their  various  personages  ;  and  this  they 
seem  to  think  harmless,  provided  they 
contrive  to  mask  the  grossness  of  the 
language  by  dashes  and  asterisks.     But 
wherein  this  differs  from  any  other  pro- 
faneness,  except  in  being  more  deliber- 
ate, and  more  pernicious  in  the  way  of 
example,   it  is   not   easy   to    see.     To 
give  currency  to  such  profane  modes  of 
speech,  under  pretence  of  their  being 
necessary  to  the  faithful  portraiture  of 
character  and  manners,  incurs  we  think 
little  less  guilt  than  that  of  originally 
uttering  them.    The  exhibition  of  such 
manners,   even  by  the  greatest    moral 
painter,  can  well  be  dispensed  with. 

In  fine,  the  rule  of  safety  in  this  mat- 
ter is  that  laid  down  by  our  Lord  in  his 
commentary  on  the  rabbinical  precepts. 
Mat.  5.  33 — 37,  'Again  ye  have  heard 
that  it  hath  been  said  by  them  of  old 
time,  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself, 
but  shalt  perform  unto  the  Lord  thine 
oaths:  But  I  say  unto  you,  Swear  not  at 
all :  neither  by  heaven  ;  for  it  is  God's 
throne  :  nor  by  the  earth  ;  for  it  is  his  foot- 
stool: neither  by  Jerusalem  ;  for  it  is  the 
city  of  the  great  King:  neither  shalt  thou 
swear  by  thine  head,  because  thou  canst 
not  make  one  hair  white  or  black.  But 
let  your  comuiunication  be.  Yea,  yea  ; 
Nay,  nay;  for  whatsoever  is  more  than 

these  cometh  of  evil.' If  The  Lord 

will  not  hold  him  guiltless,  &c.     Heb. 
ilpl^  i<b  lo  yenakkeh,  will   not  pro- 


nounce pure,  innocent,  or  clcai  ;  will 
not  acquit.  Gr.  on  jin  KuOani^r),  will  not 
cleanse;  i.e.  will  not  declare  clean,  will 
not  absolve.  He  will  not  let  him  go  un- 
jjunished.  It  is  an  instance  of  the  idiom, 
by  no  means  infrequent  in  Hebrew,  by 
which  a  negative  mode  of  expression 
couches  under  it  a  strongly  aflirmative 
idea.  We  have  then  in  these  words  a 
virtual  assurance  from  Jehovah  himself 
that  this  precept  cannot  be  disregarded 
with  impunity.  Men  may  not  discover, 
or  they  may  neglect  to  punish,  its  vio- 
lations, and  even  the  hardened  con- 
science of  the  sinner  may  fail  to  rebuke 
him  on  account  of  it ;  but  let  it  not  be 
forgotten,  that  God  will  surely  detect 
and  punish  the  insult  thus  put  upon  his 
great  and  glorious  name.  The  words 
of  inspiration  clearly  portray  the  char- 
acter of  those  who  irangress  this  com- 
mandment ;  Ps.  139.  20,  'Thine  enemies 
take  thy  name  in  vain.'  The  profane 
swearer  is  the  open  and  avowed  enemy 
of  the  high  and  holy  God,  and  it  is  no 
more  certain  that  there  will  be  a  judg- 
ment seat,  before  which  the  bold  trans- 
gressor, must  appear,  than  it  is  that  he 
will  be  called  to  an  account  for  his  pro- 
fane trifiing  with  the  most  sacred  things 
in  the  universe  ;  'And  I  will  come  near 
to  you  to  judgment  :  and  I  will  be  a 
swift  witness  against  the  sorcerers,  and 
against  the  adulterers,  and  against  false 
swearers,  and  against  those  that  oppress 
the  hireling  in  his  wages,  the  widow, 
and  the  fatherless,  and  that  turn  aside 
the  stranger  from  his  right,  and  fear  not 
me,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.'  Mai.  3.  5 
The  remarkable  passage  Josh.  9.  19,20. 
shows  in  what  light  the  children  of  Is 
rael  regarded  the  breach  of  their  plight- 
ed faith  even  to  a  portion  of  the  devoted 
nations  of  Canaan  ;  'But  all  the  princes 
said  unto  all  the  congregation,  We  have 
sworn  unto  them  by  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel :  now  therefore  wc  may  not  touch 
them.  This  will  we  do  to  them  ;  we 
will  even  let  them  \i\e,lest  wrath  he  upon 
us,  because  of  the  oath  which  we  sware 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


8  m  Remember  the  sabbath-day 
to  keep  it  holy. 


mch.  31.  13. 
Deut.  5.  12. 


14.    Lev.  19.  3,  30.  &  26.  2. 


unto  them.''  Nor  can  we  forbear  in  this 
connexion  to  advert  to  the  fact,  that  the 
sin  in  question  has  often  been  followed 
by  sudden  and  fearful  marks  of  divine 
retribution,  even  in  the  present  world. 
However  it  be  accounted  for,  certain  it 
is  that  in  more  than  one  well-attested 
instance  men  have  fallen  dead  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  horrid  imprecations, 
as  if  God  had  taken  them  at  their  word 
in  calling  upon  him  to  seal  their  per- 
dition. We  do  not  say  that  such  cases 
are  to  be  regarded  as  miraculous.  It  is 
very  possible  that  the  physical  effects, 
caused  by  an  unnatural  degree  of  ex- 
citement of  the  passions,  and  the  sud- 
den incursion  of  a  violent  pang  or  panic 
of  conscience  may  have  been  sufficient 
to  account  for  the  result.  Still  such 
cases  should  be  looked  upon  as  solemn 
warnings  ;  since  it  may  be  no  less  a  real 
visitation  of  divine  wrath  for  being 
made  by  the  agency  of  natural  laws 
acting  upon  the  nervous  system.  It  is 
to  be  considered  also,  that  as  this  is  a 
sin  which  aims  perhaps  more  directly 
than  any  other  at  God  ;  one  in  which  the 
inward  spirit  of  the  offender  comes  more 
immediately  in  collision  with  the  spirit 
of  God  ;  it  is  not  perhaps  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  he  should  occasionally 
come  out  in  more  marked  judgment 
against  it.  But  however  it  be  under- 
stood, this  solemn  denunciation  of  the 
Almighty  ought  to  be  to  this  command- 
ment what  the  restraining  limits  were 
around  the  hallowed  base  of  Sinai,  a 
sacred  fence  to  guard  it  from  unhallowed 
violation. 

THE  FOURTH  COMMANDMENT. 

8.  Rememher  the  sabbath  day  to  keep 

it  holy.    iicb.  r^rn  ti^  rj^  ^nrt 

zakor  cth  yom  hashshabboth,  remember 
the  day  of  cessation,  or  rest.    On  the 


9  n  Six  days  shalt  thou  labour,  and 
do  all  thy  work : 


nch.  23.  12.  &  31.  15.  &  34.  21. 
Ezek.  20.  12.    Luke  13.  14. 


Lev.  23,  3. 


import  of  the  original  word  for  '  Sab- 
bath,'  and  on  the  origin,  nature,  and 
end  of  the  institution  in  general,  see 
Note  on  Gen.  2.  3.  The  term  *  remem- 
ber' in  this  connexion  (*i1wT  zakor), 
implies  more  than  the  mere  mental  act 
of  memory,  as  it  is  the  only  Hebrew 
word  equivalent  to  our  celebrate  or  com- 
memorate, importing  that  it  was  to  be 
remembered  by  appropriate  observances. 
If  therefore  the  clause  were  to  be  ren- 
dered, 'Remember  the  sabbath  day  by 
way  of  commemoration  or  celebration,' 
it  would  bring  us  still  nearer  to  its 
genuine  purport.  Thus  Ex.  13.  3.  'Moses 
said  unto  the  people.  Remember  ("lIlDT 
zakoi-)  this  day,  in  which  ye  came  out 
from  Egypt,'  where  see  Note.  But  how 
was  it  to  be  remembered  ?  Not  simply 
by  mental  reminiscence,  but  by  special 
observance  ;  for  it  is  added,  '  There 
shall  no  unleavened  bread  be  eaten.'  It 
could  not  be  adequately  remembered 
without  being  kept  in  the  manner  pre- 
scribed. So  also  Ex.  12.  14,  'This  day 
shall  be  unto  you  for  a  memorial  (p^3T 
zikkaron)  ;'  and  then  the  manner  in 
which  the  precept  should  be  complied 
with  is  immediately  described,  'ye  shall 
keep  it  a  feast  by  an  ordinance  for- 
ever.' So  in  the  present  case,  the  Sab- 
bath was  to  be  remembered  by  practical 
acknowledgment  as  well  as  by  bearing 
in  mind,  with  special  care,  the  stated 
season  of  its  occurrence,  and  by  cherish-' 
ing  the  recollection  of  its  early  appoint- 
ment as  a  memorial  of  God's  rest  at  the 
close  of  the  work  of  creation.  Accord- 
ingly, in  the  parallel  passage,  Deut.  5. 
12,  the  language  is  not  'remember  the 
sabbath  to  sanctify  it,'  but  'keep  the 
sabbath  day,'  no  doubt  with  the  design 
to  intimate  that  these  two  terms  in  this 
connexion  were  equivalent.  Thus  too 
we  learn,  from  Lev.  23.  3,  that  on  the 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


269 


sabbath  there  was  to  be  a  holy  convoca- 
tion, or  ail  assembly  of  the  peojile,  at 
tlie  labornacle,  as  afterwards  at  tlie 
temple,  for  the  public  worsliip  of  God, 
as  if  this  were  the  apj)ropriate  mode  of 
remembering  the  sabbath;  'Six  days 
shall  work  be  done  ;  but  the  seventh 
day  is  the  sabbath  of  rest,  an  holy  con- 
vocation; ye  shall  do  no  work  therein: 
it  is  the  sabbath  of  the  Lord  in  all  your 
dwellings,'  But  in  addition  to  the  'holy 
convocation,'  the  Israelites  were  re- 
quired to  orTer  a  greater  number  of  sacri- 
fices on  that  than  on  other  days.  Numb. 
28.  9,  10,  and  we  cannot  question  that 
these  various  services  wore  understood 
to  enter  essentially  into  the  due  observ- 
ance of  this  hallowed  season.  It  con- 
sequently leads  us  to  the  inevitable  in- 
ference, that  the  sabbath  is  not  properly 
or  adequately  kept  unless  it  be  distin- 
guished from  other  days  by  being  in  a 
special  manner  devoted  to  the  duties  of 
public  as  well  05  private  worship. 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  this  com- 
mandment is  not  so  purely  moral  or 
self-enforced  in  its  own  nature  as  the 
rest.  Although  the  consecration  of  a 
certain  portion  of  our  time  to  the  im- 
mediate service  of  God  may  perhaps  be 
admitted  to  be  of  moral  obligation,  yet 
the  exact  proportion,  as  well  as  the 
particular  day,  may  be  considered  as  of 
positive  institution,  and  therefore  some- 
what more  of  a  Jewish  aspect  is  given 
to  this  precept  than  to  either  of  the 
others.  For  this  reason  some  in  all 
periods  of  the  church  have  been  led  to 
question  whether  it  is  properly  to  be 
considered  as  still  remaining  in  force 
under  the  Christian  dispensation,  par- 
ticularly as  no  express  mention  is  made 
of  it  in  the  New  Testament.  But  as  it 
w;isin  its  substantial  features  no  doubt  in 
existence  long  before  the  period  of  the 
Jewish  economy,  as  it  forms  an  inte- 
gral )'art  of  that  collection  of  ))recepts 
which  was  sj)oken  from  heaven  by  the 
voice  of  God,  and  was  afterwards  writ- 
ten by  the  finger  of  God  on  the  tables 
23« 


of  stone,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  olTer  a 
stronger  argument  in  proof  of  the  per- 
petuity of  its  obligation.  Not  doubting, 
tlierefore,  that  an  institution  which  was 
binding  fte/ore  tiic  law  is  equally  binding 
after  it,  unless  distinctly  repealed,  we 
have  only  to  remark,  that  the  particular 
day  in  the  week  is  not  specified  ;  it  is, 
'remember  the  sabbath  day,' — not  the 
'  seventh  day' — '  to  keep  it  holj^.'  All 
that  the  commandment  expressly  re- 
quires is,  to  observe  a  day  of  sacred 
rest  after  every  six  days  of  labor. 
The  seventh  day  indeed  is  to  be  kept 
holy,  but  not  a  word  is  liere  said  as  to 
the  point  from  which  tlie  reckoning  is 
to  begm.  The  'seventh  day'  is  not  so 
much  the  seventh  according  to  any  par- 
ticular method  of  computing  the  sep- 
tenary cycle,  as  in  reference  to  the  six 
working  days  before-mentioned  ;  every 
seventh  day  in  rotation  after  six  of  la- 
bor. The  Jewish  sabbath  was  kept  on 
our  Saturday,  but  we  act  equally  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  spirit  and  the  letter  of 
this  commandment  by  keeping  it  on  Sun- 
day; and  as  this  was  the  day  on  which  our 
Lord  arose  from  the  dead,  it  has  come 
to  be  appropriately  designated  as  'the 
Lord's  day,'  and  as  such  has  been  ob- 
served  as  the   Christian  sabbath  from 

the  earliest  periods  of  the  church. 

H  To  keep  it  holy.  Heb.  1ir~pb  lekad- 
desho,  to  sanctify  it.  On  the  import  of 
this  term  see  Note  on  Gen.  2.  3. 

9.  Six  days  shall  thou  labor,  and  do 
all  thy  work.  Heb.  "^n^^!:?:  ^^  kol 
melakteka,  all  thy  business  or  servile 
work.  It  comes  from  the  ancient  root 
^nb  lank,  to  send,  to  depute,  from 
which  also  comes  "Ib^i^  malak,  a  mes- 
senger, and  properly  signifies  all  that 
varied  service  and  ministry  to  the  per- 
formance of  which  servants  were  sent 
or  despatched,  and  about  which  they 
were  employed.  It  plainly  refers  to 
the  daily  routine  of  ordinary  secular 
employments,  all  which  were  to  be  dili- 
gently })ursued  on  the  six  working  days, 
and  religiously  suspended  on  the  sev 


S70 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


10  But  the  0  seventh  day  is  the 
sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God  : 
in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work, 
thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daugh- 
ter, thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid- 
servant, nor  thy  cattle,  pnor  thy 


oGen.  2.  2,  3.ch.  16.  26.  &  31. 
13.  16,  17,  IS,  19. 


enth  or  day  of  rest.  As  the  words  be- 
long to  the  first  table,  which  is  not  de- 
signed to  teach  us  our  duties  to  our- 
selves or  our  neighbors,  but  to  God, 
they  are  not  in  their  intrinsic  import 
so  &iv\ci\y  preceptive  ox  imperative,  as 
permissive.  Though  they  do  in  their 
spirit  inculcate  the  duty  of  active  and 
exemplary  diligence  in  the  season  of 
it,  yet  their  primary  drift  is,  undoubt- 
edly, to  define  that  season;  to  teach 
us  within  what  bounds  our  labor  is  to 
be  circumscribed,  in  contradistinction 
to  the  allotted  time  of  rest.  In  mak- 
ing this  disposal  of  time,  however,  the 
Most  High  of  course  reserved  to  him- 
self the  right  of  occasionally  setting 
apart  some  one  or  more  of  those  six 
days  for  religious  services,  and  we  are 
not  to  consider  it  as  any  infringement 
upon  the  original  precept  if  extraordi- 
nary seasons  of  fasting,  thanksgiving, 
and  worship  should  occasionally  be  set 
apart  in  like  manner,  by  civil  or  eccle- 
siastical authority. 

10.  The  seventh  day  is  the  sabbath  of 
the  Lord  thy  God.  Heb.  nin^ib  ^^3 
'I'^n^J^  shabboth  laihovah  Eloh'cka,  a 
sabbath  to  Jehovah  thy  God.  That  is, 
the  sabbath  appointed  by  and  conse- 
crated to  the  Lord  thy  God ;  the  sab- 
bath in  which  God  asserts  a  special  in- 
terest, which  he  peculiarly  claims  as 
his  own,  and  which  we  cannot  refuse  to 
sanctify  to  him  without  being  guilty  of 
a  kind  of  sacrilege,  and  appropriating 
to  ourselves  what  properly  belongs  to 
another.  In  accordance  with  this  phrase- 
ology we  find  it  said,  Lev.  26.  2,  'Ye 
shall  keep  my  sabbath.'     Is.  56.  4,  'For 


Stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates  : 
1 1  For  q  in  six  days  the  Lord  made 
heaven  and  earth,  the  sea  and  all 
that  in  them  ts,  and  rested  the 
seventh  day  :  Avherefore  the  Lord 
blessed  the  sabbath-day,  and  hal- 
lowed it. 

q  Gen.  2.  2. 


thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  the  eunuchs 
that  keep  my  sabbaths,  and  choose  the 

things  that  please  me,'  &c. ir  In  it 

thou  shalt  not  do  any  irork,  &c.  That 
is,  no  secular  or  servile  work,  nothing 
pertaining  to  a  mere  worldly  calling. 
Works  of  piety,  necessity,  and  charity 
are  of  course  excepted,  as  these  consist 
entirely  with  the  spirit  of  that  day,  as 
a  day  of  holy  rest ;  for  '  the  sabbath 
was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the 
sabbath.'  It  is  obvious,  however,  that 
all  works  of  a  different  character  are  to 
be  excluded  from  the  hallowed  hours  of 
the  sabbath,  and  our  affairs  should  be 
previously  so  arranged,  that  the  sacred 
duties  of  the  Lord's  day  may  be  inter- 
rupted as  little  as  possible  ;  nor  sliould 
any  thing  be  considered  as  a  work  of 
necessity  on  that  day,  which  can  bo 
done  before  the  sabbath,  or  delayed  till 
after  it.  All  buying  and  selling,  pay- 
ing wages,  settling  accounts,  gathering 
harvests,  clearing  out  of  vessels  from 
port,  making  up,  sorting,  or  transport- 
ing of  mails,  writing  letters  of  business 
or  amusement,  reading  books,  papers, 
or  pamphlets  on  ordinary  subjects,  tri- 
fling visits,  journies,  excursions,  or  con- 
versation on  topics  merely  secular,  are 
inconsistent  with  'keeping  a  day  holy 

unto  the  Lord.' IT  Thou  nor  thy  son, 

nor  thy  daughter,  nor  thy  man-servant , 
&c.  This  part  of  the  precept  goes  not 
only  to  extend  the  obligation,  but  also 
to  secure  the  privileges  of  the  sabbath 
to  every  class  and  condition  of  men. 
The  wife  indeed  is  not  mentioned,  be- 
cause she  is  supposed  to  be  one  with  the 
husband,  and  as  cooperating  with  him  of 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


271 


course  in  carrying  into  execution  every 
commandment  of  God.  But  the  rest  of 
the  faniil y,  sous  and  daugliters,  male  and 
female  servants,  are  specified  in  such  a 
waj'  as  to  throw  upon  heads  of  families 
the  responsibility  of  uniting  all  their 
household  establishment  in  the  due  ob- 
servance  of  the  day.  Whatever  relief, 
refreshment,  or  rest  may  be  intended  to 
be  afforded  by  the  institution,  servants 
and  even  cattle  are  to  be  sacredly  con- 
sidered as  entitled  to  its  merciful  provi- 
sions. It  is  indeed  the  destiny  of  man 
that  he  should  earn  his  bread  by  the 
sweat  of  his'  brow,  but  the  sabbath  is 
graciously  bestowed  upon  him  as  a  re- 
lief to  that  destiny.  His  mental  energy 
and  bodily  health  are  to  be  renewed  by 
its  leisure  ;  and  God  who  has  thus  be- 
stowed upon  man  the  substantial  bless- 
ing of  a  periodical  cessation  from  toil, 
has  decreed  the  same  privilege  to  the 
menial  classes  and  the  inferior  animals. 
The  rest  therefore  so  kindly  provided 
by  the  Creator  for  servants  and  cattle 
ought  not  to  be  unnecessarily  broken. 
The  domestic,  on  that  day,  should  be  re- 
leased, as  far  as  possible,  from  his  or- 
dinary labors,  and  the  beast  which  has 
served  us  faithfully  during  the  week, 
should  not  be  deprived  of  his  share  of 
the  general  repose.  Were  this  law  but 
dirly  observed,  the  servants  in  many 
families  would  be  spared  that  labor  on 
the  sabbath  which  now  too  often  pre- 
vents their  attending  to  any  religious 
duty.  Nor  would  the  use  of  horses  for 
travelling  so  extensively  disgrace  our 
own  and  other  Christian  lands.  Many 
a  driver  and  ostler,  who  knows  no  ces- 
sation from  his  daily  task,  would  be 
found  frequenting  the  place  of  worship  ; 
and  man  J"  a  ]>oor  animal,  which  now 
pants  under  the  lash  of  the  sabbath, 
would  tlien  be  permitted  to  recover 
strength  for  the  ensuing  six  days  of  in- 
evitable  labor. IT  Nor  thy  stranger 

that  is  vithin  thy  gates.    That  is,  with- 
in thy  cities,  as  ex]ilained  in  the  Note 


on  Gen.  22.  17.  Gr.  h  Trpnarj'XvT^i  h  ra- 
fruKcw  ev  an,  the  prosclytc  duelling 
ainong  thee.  Even  the  strangers  who 
might  be  resident  among  the  Israelites, 
are  here  required  to  acknowledge  the 
authority  of  the  law  sanctifying  tlie  sab- 
bath day  ;  which  is  in  other  words  re- 
cognising llie  right  of  the  Israelites  to 
demand  that  strangers  should  pay  a  rev- 
erent respect  to  the  institutions,  civil 
and  religious,  of  the  peo])le  among 
whom  they  sojourned.  For  otherwise 
how  could  this  charge  be  embraced  in 
the  duty  of  the  Israelites?  But  the 
thing  was  in  itself  in  the  highest  de- 
gree reasonable  and  proper.  If  such  a 
stranger  were  a  proselyte  of  the  class 
called  proselytes  of  righteousness  or 
justice,  it  was  of  course  incumbent  up- 
on him  to  conform  to  all  the  observ- 
ances of  the  Hebrews.  If  he  were  mere- 
ly a  proselyte  of  the  gate,  who  had  re- 
nounced idolatry  without  receiving  cir- 
cumcision, still  it  was  fitting  that  he 
should  rest  from  his  labors  on  the  sab- 
bath day,  and  not,  by  engaging  in  them, 
disturb  those  who  were  desirous  at  that 
time  of  quietly  devoting  themselves  to 
the  duties  of  public  and  private  worship. 
It  was  doing  as  he  would  be  done  by  in 
similar  circumstances. 

11.  For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made, 
&c.  W^e  are  here  reminded  of  the  origin 
of  the  sabbath,  by  way  of  enforcing  its 
observance  by  an  appropriate  sanction. 
It  was  designed  for  a  memorial  of  the 
creation  of  the  world,  and  therefore  to 
be  observed  to  the  glory  of  the  Creator 
who  made  heaven  and  earth.  All  the 
perfectionsof  the  Godhead,  accordingly, 
which  are  so  conspicuously  displayed 
in  the  wondrous  fabric  of  creation,  and 
in  that  providence  by  which  it  is  upheld 
and  governed,  should  be  devorttly  con- 
templated and  adored  on  that  solemn 
day.  Upon  comjiaring  this  passage  with 
Deut.  5.  15,  a  different  reason  seems  to 
be  given  for  the  observance  of  tlie  sab- 
bath ;  'And  remcinber  that  thou  wast  a 


272 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


12  H  r  Honour  thy  father  and  thy 

rch.as.  26.  Lev.  19.  3.  Deut.  5. 16.  Jcr. 
35.  7,  18, 19.  Matt.  15.  4.  &  19.  19.  Mark  7. 
10.  &  10.  19.     Luke  18.20.     Ephes.  6.  2. 

servant  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  that 
the  Lord  thy  God  brought  thee  out  thence 
through  a  mighty  hand  and  by  a  stretch- 
ed-out  arm:  therefore  the  Lord  thy  God 
commanded  thee  to  keep  the  .sabbath- 
day.'  But  the  two  are  by  no  means  in- 
consistent with  each  otlier.  The  first, 
taken  from  the  creation,  was  well  known 
and  continued  valid  of  course  ;  but  llie 
second,  taken  from  the  deliverance  from 
Egypt,  was  merely  superadded  to  the 
first  in  order  to  give  more  force  to  the 
sense  of  obligation  by  coupling  it  with 
the  memory  of  an  important  event  in 
their  national  history.  It  would  seem 
too  that  the  allusion  in  the  latter  case 
had  special  respect  to  that  clause  of  the 
precept  which  enjoins  the  duty  of  mas- 
ters in  regard  to  their  servants.  While 
the  Israelites  were  in  Egypt  in  a  state  of 
slavery  they  were  no  doubt  restricted 
by  their  despotic  oppressors  from  ob- 
serving the  sabbath  as  they  otherwise 
would.  But  now  when  set  at  liberty 
and  permitted  to  serve  God  according 
to  the  precepts  of  their  religion,  he  just- 
ly expected  that  they  should  make  a 
right  use  of  their  liberty,  and  deal  more 
mercifully  with  their  servants  than  the 
Egyptians  had  dealt  with  them;  and 
particularly  that  they  should  permit 
them  to  rest  one  day  in  seven,  that  is, 
as  often  as  they  did  themselves. 

For  a  more  extended  and  elaborate 
view  of  the  origin,  design,  obligation, 
and  due  observance  of  the  holy  sabbath, 
the  reader  -is  referred  to  Edwards'  and 
Dwiglit's  Theology,  and  to  the  Trea- 
tises of  Bp.  Wilson,  Gurney,  Humph- 
rey, Agnew,  Waterbiny,  and  Kings- 
bury, in  which  is  accumulated  an  im- 
mense fund  of  argumentative  and  prac- 
tical matter  relative  to  this  divine  in- 
stitution. 


mother  ;  that  thy  days  may  be  long 
upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy 
God  givelh  thee. 


SECOND   TABLE. 

THE   FIFTH    COMMANDMENT. 

12.  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother, 
&c.  Heb.  izr  kabcd,  from  1Z2  ka- 
bad,  to  be  heavy ;  thence  applied  to 
weight  of  character,  dignity,  or  what 
entitles  one  to  respect,  honor,  distin- 
guished esteem.  Accordingly  in  the  PicI 
conjugation  it  signifies  to  regard,  treat, 
or  practically  declare  one  as  worthy  of 
honor.  It  is  directly  opposed  to  the 
word  ppp  kalal,  to  make  light  of,  to  set 
light  by,  to  account  mean,  vile,  or  worth- 
less. Accordingly  we  find  this  term  em- 
ployed to  signify  a  conduct  the  reverse 
of  that  enjoined  in  this  precept ;  as  Deut. 
27.  16,  'Cursed  be  he  that  sctteth  light 
^y  i^^p'^  makleh)  his  father  or  his 
mother.'  Ezek.  22.  7,  'In  thee  have 
they  set  light  by  (l^pH  ht'kallu)  father 
and  mother.'  From  the  same  root  IDS 
kabad,  comes  the  original  word  for  glory, 
"IDi  kabod,  whence  the  Apostle  has, 
2  Cor.  4.  17,  'Weight  of  glory,'  and 
Peter,  2  Pet.  2.  10,  denominates  magis- 
trates So^at,  glories,  from  the  weight 
of  character  attached  to  them.  Comp. 
Note  on  Gen.  31.  1.  In  Lev.  19.  3,  and 
Deut.  .5.  16,  the  word  J^l'i  yara,  to  fear, 
to  reverence  is  substituted,  but  obvious- 
ly with  the  same  import.  The  grand 
duty  here  inculcated  is  that  of  filial 
piety,  embracing  that  entire  class  of 
duties  which  children  owe  to  their  par- 
ents. The  foundation  of  these  duties  is 
laid  in  the  nature  of  the  relation  which 
parents  and  children  sustain  to  each 
otlier,  and  they  are  so  obvious  that  chil- 
dren themselves,  even  at  a  very  tender 
age,  are  capable  of  feeling  deeply  their 
obligation.  Parents  are  under  Gcd  the 
immediate  authors  of  the  being  of  chil- 


B.  C.  1491.J 


CHAPTER  XX. 


273 


dren.  It  is  to  their  parents  that  they 
owe  their  preservation,  sustontation, 
and  protection  during  that  helpless  pe- 
riod in  which  they  are  utterly  incapable 
of  taking  care  ol"  themselves.  The  hearts 
of  parents  are  Cull  of  the  kindest  affec- 
tion— love,  tender  solicitude,  pity,  sym- 
pathy, benevolence — towards  their  chil- 
dren, affections  which  show  themselves 
in  the  most  painful  exertions,  toils, 
watchings,  privations,  sacrifices  of  com- 
fort and  ease,  of  which  human  naXure  is 
capable.  They  willingly  undergo  hard- 
ship, encounter  peril,  incur  expense,  and 
jeopard  their  lives  and  their  health  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  their  otfspring. 
And  children,  when  they  are  more  ad- 
vanced in  age,  come  of  course  into  the 
full  participationvof  all  the  temporal  ad- 
vantages of  their  parents'  station  in  life, 
whether  of  wealth,  honor,  or  respect- 
ability. Indeed  it  is  in  great  measure 
for  their  children  that  parents  live  and 
labor  in  the  world. 

For  these  and  similar  reasons  parents 
most  justly  claim  what  the  great  Parent 
of  all  here  claims  for  them.  And  as 
they  have  affections  and  perform  actions 
nearly  akin  to  those  of  God  towards  us, 
they  may  properly  be  deemed  in  a  sense 
his  representatives,  the  lively  images 
of  him  in  whom  we  live  and  move  and 
have  our  being,  and  on  that  account  en- 
titled to  a  special  veneration  from  their 
children.  God  himself,  we  know,  in 
order  to  endear  himself  to  our  hearts, 
and  to  win  more  effectually  our  obedi- 
ence, assumes  the  title  o{  Father,  and 
on  this  ground  lays  a  special  claim  to 
our  respect ;  'If  I  be  a  father,  where  is 
mine  honor?'  And  it  is  remarkable  that 
while  the  duties  owed  to  other  men  are 
termed  justice,  or  charity,  or  courtesy, 
or  liberality,  or  gratitude,  those  due  to 
parents  in  most  languages  are  compris- 
ed under  the  title  of  ■piety,  implying 
something  divine  in  the  objects  of  them. 
Who  indeed  does  not  feel  that  it  is 
something  more  than  injustice  to  wrong 
a  parent ;  that  it  is  more  than  uncharit- 


ableness  to  refuse  them  succor  or  relief; 
that  it  is  more  than  incivility  to  be  un- 
kind to  them;  that  it  is  more  than  sor- 
did avarice  to  withhold  aid  from  their 
necessities  ?  Who  is  not  prompted  at 
once  to  brand  such  conduct  as  impiety? 
Indeed  the  language  of  inspiration  ex- 
pressly confirms  this  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, 1  Tim.  5.  4,  'If  any  widow  have 
children  or  nephews  (i.  e.  grandchil- 
dren) let  them  learn  first  to  show  piety 
{€V(7i:/3eii')  at  home,  and  to  requite 
their  parents ;  for  that  is  good  and  ac- 
ceptable before  God ;'  where  the  term 
employed  is  the  proper  one  for  express- 
ing/^fe^i/  towards  God. 

As  to  the  precise  import  of  the  pre- 
cept, it  will  perhaps  be  more  distinctly 
gathered  from  the  several  parallel  in- 
junctions scattered  through  ihe  Old  and 
New  Testament ;  'Ye  shall  fear  every 
man  his  mother  and  his  father,  and 
keep  my  sabbath  ;  I  am  the  Lord  your 
God.'  'My  son,  keep  thy  father's  com- 
mandment, and  forsake  not  the  law  of 
thy  mother.'  'Children,  obey  your  pa- 
rents in  the  Lord  ;  for  this  is  right.' 
'Children  obey  your  parents  in  all  things, 
for  this  is  well  pleasing  unto  the  Lord.' 
In  these  passages  the  phraseology  is  so 
varied,  as  to  make  it  evident  that  the 
precept  implies  not  only  an  abstract 
sentiment,  a  cordial  inward  respect  and 
esteem  for  their  persons,  but  also  obe- 
dience to  their  lawful  commands,  sub- 
mission to  their  rebukes,  instructions, 
and  corrections,  deference  to  their  coun- 
sels, and  sincere  endeavors  to  promote 
their  comfort,  particularly  in  old  age, 
when  by  affording  them  a  maintenance 
we  can  in  some  measure  requite  their 
care  of  our  infancy  and  childhood.  If 
such  are  the  duties  of  children,  let  pa- 
rents, on  the  other  hand,  remember  that 
correspondent  duties  rest  upon  them. 
Though  children  are  not  absolved  from 
the  obligation  of  this  commandment  by 
the  misconduct  of  their  parents,  yet  in 
the  nature  of  things  it  is  impossible 
that  they  should  yield  the  same  hearty 


274 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491- 


respect  and  veneration  to  the  unwor- 
thy as  to  the  worthy,  nor  does  God 
require  a  child  to  pay  an  irrational 
honor  to  his  parents.  If  his  parents 
are  atheists,  he  cannot  honor  them  as 
Christians.  If  they  are  prayerless  and 
profane,  he  cannot  honor  them  as  reli- 
gious. If  they  are  worldly,  avaricious, 
overreaching,  unscrupulous  as  to  vera- 
city and  honest  dealing,  he  cannot  honor 
them  as  exemplary,  upright,  conscien- 
tious, and  spiritually  minded.  If  they 
are  intemperate  and  abandoned  he  can- 
not honor  them  as  sober  and  virtuous, 
nor  truly  speak  of  them  as  such.  But 
a  child  is  obliged  to  think  as  well  as  he 
can  of  his  parents,  and  to  conceal  their 
faults,  unless  the  good  of  society  ob- 
viously requires  their  exposure.  He  is 
to  obey  them  in  all  things  where  their 
commands  do  not  come  in  conflict  with 
those  of  God.  In  that  case  children  are 
not  at  liberty  to  obey  ;  they  are  under 
an  antecedent  obligation  ;  they  are  im- 
periously bound  by  their  duty  to  God 
to  adhere  to  truth,  to  honesty,  to  justice. 
But  in  all  such  cases  there  is  need  of 
the  utmost  caution,  and  of  a  positive 
assurance  that  the  thing  declined  is  as 
clearly  forbidden  by  God  as  obedience 
to  parents  is  commanded  by  him.  Other- 
wise children  cannot  be  warranted  in 
refusing  to  obey  parental  injunctions. 

That  thy  days  may  be  long  in  the 
land,  &c.  Heb.  '^i^^i^'"  ^p72^  lemaan 
ydarikun,  that  they  may  prolong.  That 
is,  as  Leclerc  and  some  others  under- 
stand it,  that  thy  fatlier  and  mother,  by 
their  prayers  in  thy  behalf,  by  the  bles- 
sings of  heaven  which  they  shall  in- 
voke, may  be  the  means  of  prolonging 
thy  days  upon  the  land  where  thou 
dwellest.  But  the  idiom  of  the  Hebrew 
tongue  is  such  that  we  are  not  required 
to  interpret  the  word  '  they'  of  parents, 
and  from  the  illustration  which  we 
have  given  of  this  usage  of  speech  in 
the  Note  on  Gen.  16.  14,  it  will  be  evi- 
dent that  our  translation  presents  the 
right  rendering,  'that  thy  days  may  be 


prolonged,'  following  herein  the  Gr. 
iva  ^aKpw^povioq  ysi'i)  eiri  rrji  ytji  rrn 
ayaOrji,  that  thou  maycst  he  long-lived 
upon  the  good  land,  &c.,  where  by  the 
way,  we  may  remark  that  ayaBrti  good 
is  gratuitously  inserted,  but  probably 
with  a  view  to  indicate  that  they  under- 
stood the  word  '  land'  of  the  land  of 
promise,  instead  of  'earth'  as  it  is  fre- 
quently rendered.  A  similar  phrase- 
ology occurs  Job,  4.  19,  '  Which  are 
crushed  before  the  moth  ;'  Heb.  They 
crush  them  before  the  moth.  Ch.  7.  3, 
'  Wearisome  nights  are  appointed  to 
me  ;'  Heb.  They  appoint  to  me  weari- 
some nights.  So  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, Luke  16.  9,  '  That  they  may  re- 
ceive you  into  everlasting  habitations  ;' 
i.  e.  that  ye  may  be  received.  The 
parallel  promise  in  Deut.  5.  16,  has  a 
slight  additional  clause,  'That  thy  days 
may  be  prolonged,  and  that  it  may  go 
well  with  thee,  in  the  land  which  the 
Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee,'  and  this 
sense  of  the  promise  is  confirmed  by 
the  apostle's  citation,  Eph.  6.  3,  'That 
it  may  be  well  with  thee,  and  that  thou 
mayest  live  long  on  the  earth.'  In 
other  cases  the  prolonging  of  the  days 
is  attributed  directly  and  actively  to 
the  person  of  whose  conduct  it  is  the 
result.  Thus  Deut.  22.  7,  '  But  thou 
shalt  in  any  wise  let  the  dam  go,  and 
take  the  young  to  thee  ;  that  it  may 
be  well  with  thee,  and  that  thou  may- 
est prolong  thy  days.'  This  command- 
ment is  indeed  cited  by  the  apostle  as 
the  first  that  has  a  special  promise 
annexed  to  it — for  the  promise  added 
to  the  second  commandment  is  rather 
general  to  all  those  that  love  God,  or 
annexed  to  the  due  observance  of  the 
whole  law,  than  of  that  single  pre- 
cept— but  the  promised  blessing  is  evi- 
dently  one  that  would  in  a  great  meas- 
ure flow  as  a  natural  consequence  from 
the  due  observance  of  the  precept.  God 
assures  them  that  their  permanence  and 
prosperity  in  the  land  of  their  expected 
possession   would  depend    upon   their 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


275 


obedience  to  this  command  ;  and  in  that 
he  merely  states  what  would  be  found 
to  be  the  result  of  general  experience  in 
the  course  of  his  providence,  that  the 
early  habit  of  respect  and  reverence  to 
parents  and  superiors,  would  tend  to 
the  peaceful  and  prosperous  existence 
of  society,  by  removing  the  causes  of 
internal  discord  and  decay ;  while,  as 
to  individuals,  the  salutary  restraint  of 
the  passions,  and  the  cultivation  of  a 
quiet,  gentle  demeanor  would  of  itself 
go  far  towards  lengthening  the  term  of 
human  life.  But  however  this  may  be, 
due  reverence  for  parents  will  be  found 
to  consist  with  reverence  to  God  and 
his  institutions,  and  where  this  is  the 
case  in  any  community  he  will  display 
his  favor  and  crown  them  with  the  bles- 
sings of  long  life  and  temporal  pros- 
perity. 

That  this  promise  had  respect  prima- 
rily to  the  chosen  people,  to  whom  God 
was  now  about  to  give  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, is  unquestionable;  and  to  them  it 
was  doubtless  made  in  a  national  as 
well  as  in  an  individual  character.  It 
was  a  pledge  on  the  part  of  God  that  if 
they  evinced  a  strict  obedience  to  this 
command,  he  would  grant  them,  as  a 
people,  a  long  continuance  in  their  own 
land  in  despite  of  all  the  attempts  of 
their  enemies  to  conquer  and  dispossess 
them.  This  seems  to  be  confirmed  by 
the  parallel  language  of  Deut.  4.  26, 
*Ye  shall  soon  utterly  perish  from  off 
the  land  whereunto  ye  go  over  Jordan 
to  possess  it  ;  ye  shall  not  prolong  your 
days  upon  it,  but  shall  utterly  be  des- 
troyed.' V.  33,  '  Ye  shall  walk  in  all 
the  ways  wliich  the  Lord  your  God 
hath  commanded  you,  tliat  ye  may  live, 
and  that  it  may  be  well  with  you,  and 
that  ye  may  prolong  your  days  in  the 
land  7rhich  ye  shall  possess.'  V.  40. 
'Thou  shah  keep  therefore  his  statutes 
and  his  commandments,  which  I  com- 
mand ihee  this  day,  that  it  may  go  well 
with  thee,  and  with  thy  children  after 
lh.ee,  and  that  thou  mayest  prolong  thy  \ 


days  upon  the  earth  (rather,  upon  the 
land),  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth 
thee,  for  ever.'  Ch.  32.  46,  47,  'And 
he  said  unto  them,  Set  your  hearts  unto 
all  the  words  which  I  testify  among 
you  this  day,  which  ye  shall  command 
your  cliildren  to  observe  to  do,  all  the 
words  of  this  law.  For  it  is  not  a  vain 
thing  for  you :  because  it  is  your  life ; 
and  through  this  thing  ye  shall  prolong 
your  days  in  the  land  whither  ye  go 
over  Jordan  to  possess  it.'  Accordingly 
we  find,  that  when  God  threatens  the 
nation  with  being  carried  captive  out 
of  their  own  land  for  their  sins,  he  par- 
ticularly mentions  this  among  other 
procuring  causes  of  their  calamities,  ^/le 
not  honoring  their  parents;  Ezek.  22.  7, 
12,  15,  'In  thee  have  they  set  light  by 
father  and  mother. — Behold  therefore — 
I  will  scatter  thee  among  the  heathen, 
and  disperse  thee  in  the  countries.' 
But  the  apostle,  Eph.  6.  2,  3,  cites  this 
commandment  as  if  the  promise  still 
held  good  under  the  Christian  dispensa- 
tion, and  this  fact  is  doubtless  to  be  ac- 
counted for  by  supposing  that  the  spirit, 
the  principle,  of  the  promise  is  still 
acted  upon  under  the  moral  government 
of  Jehovah.  Even  at  the  present  day, 
it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that,  as  a 
general  fact,  those  who  are  exemplary 
in  the  discharge  of  filial  duties  be- 
come the  objects  of  a  specially  reward- 
ing providence  in  the  longer  enjoyment 
of  life  and  of  those  temporal  blessings 
which  make  it  desirable.  On  the  other 
hand,  what  close  observer  of  the  retri- 
butive dealings  of  God,  can  question 
that  in  multitudes  of  cases  the  untimely 
deaths  of  the  young  have  been  the  judi- 
cial consequences  of  disobedience  to 
their  parents  ?  In  how  many  instances 
has  the  confession  been  extorted  from 
convicted  felons,  that  the  first  step  in 
their  downward  career  was  despising 
the  commands  of  jiarents,  and  the  next 
the  breach  of  the  holy  sabbath  ?  And 
it  would  seem  as  if  the  connexion  be- 
tween these  two  forms  of  transgression, 


276  EXODUS. 

13  » Thou  shall  not  kill. 

sDeut.  5.  17.     Matt.  5.  21.     Rom.  13.  9, 


was  expressly  recognised  in  the  page  of 
inspiration,  from  their  being  conjointly 
prohibited;  Lev.  19.  3,  'Ye  shall  fear 
every  man  his  mother  and  iiis  father,  and 
keep  my  sabbaths;'  as  if  it  were  to  be 
expected,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  he 
who  dishonored  his  parents  would  ha- 
bitually profane  the  sabbath. 

At  the  same  time,  it  is  not  to  be 
considered  as  militating  with  the  verity 
of  this  promise,  if  many  children  dis- 
tinguished  for  filial  piety  should  be  cut 
off  in  their  tender  years.  This  no  doubt 
was  the  case  with  thousands  of  the  seed 
of  Jacob,  and  the  same  thing  happens 
to  multitudes  in  every  age.  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  vindicate  the  truth  of  the  prom- 
ise, if  it  holds  good  as  a  general  fact  in 
the  divine  administration.  And  even 
in  the  cases  that  constitute  the  appa- 
rent exceptions,  the  early  called  may 
be  taken  from  the  evil  to  come  ;  and  if 
the  years  that  would  have  been  spent 
on  earth  are  spent  in  heaven,  it  cannot 
be  said  that  the  promise  fails  of  its 
fulfilment.  God  is  certainly  as  good  as 
his  word  when  he  is  better. 

THE  SIXTH  COMMANDMENT. 

13.  Thou  Shalt  not  kill.  Heb.  H^ 
n^i^n  la  tirtzaha,  thou  shall  not  mur- 
der. Gr.  ov  (povevn-eii,  id.  Chal.  'Thou 
shah  not  kill  a  soul ;'  i.  e.  a  person 
The  original  Tl'l"^  ratzah,  from  being 
in  several  instances  applied  to  violent 
beating,  breaking,  contusion,  and  from 
general  usage,  more  properly  signifies 
the  violent,  unjust,  taking  of  life,  which 
is  usually  denominated  murder.  In 
Arabic  it  signifies  to  overwhelm  with 
stones,  to  stone  to  death,  to  smash  a  ser- 
pcnPs  head  vith  a  stone.  It  is  thus 
distinguished  from  a'^iJl  harag,  also 
translated  to  kill,  but  which  is  more  le- 
gitimately employed  to  designate  that 
kind  oUesal  killing  which  is  the  result 


[B.  C.  1491. 


14  t  Thou  shall  not  commit  adul- 
tery. 

tDeut.5.  18.     Malt.  5.  27. 


of  the  sentence  of  the  magistrate.  There 
are  some  few  exceptions  to  this  remark, 
as  Num.  S^^i.  27—30,  as  also  vv.  11 ,  23, 25, 
of  the  same  chapter,  where  it  is  used 
not  only  of  inconsiderate  and  fortuitous 
homicide,  or  chance-medley,  but  also 
of  killing  a  malefactor,  which  was  per- 
mitted, and  even  commanded;  but  the 
distinction  holds  good  in  the  main,  and 
the  slightest  reflection  will  convince 
any  one  that  in  this  precept  it  must 
have  reference  to  an  unlawful  and  un- 
just taking  of  life.  The  latter  verb 
3"in  harag  is  applied  also  to  the  slaying 
of  brute  beasts,  which  tl'^'^  ratzah  never 
is.  The  scope  and  spirit  of  the  injunc- 
tion is  therefore  evident.  As  life  is  the 
greatest  of  earthly  blessings,  and  the 
grand  foundation  of  enjoying  all  others, 
God  is  here  pleased  to  make  known  the 
sacredness  which  he  would  have  at- 
tached to  so  inestimable  a  boon.  The 
sixth  commandment  plants  an  inviola- 
ble guard  around  human  life.  It  for- 
bids  the  wanton  extinction  of  that  vital 
principle  which  was  breathed  into  man's 
nostrils  by  the  Deity  himself,  and  the 
obliteration  of  that  image  of  God  which 
constituted  the  glory  of  Adam  at  his 
creation.  The  infliction  of  capital  pun- 
ishment for  capital  crimes,  by  the  sen- 
tence of  the  magistrate  is  not  here  for- 
bidden, as  such  a  sentence  is  virtually 
involved  in  the  Noachic  precept,  '  He 
that  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall 
his  blood  be  shed ;'  and  confirmed  by 
other  passages  of  the  Scriptures.  Nor 
is  it  probably  to  be  interpreted  as  pro- 
hibiting the  taking  life  in  self-defence 
in  lawful  war,  or  in  a  personal  attack, 
where  one  knows  that  the  killing  of  an 
assailant  or  the  loss  of  his  own  life  is 
the  only  alternative.  In  any  other  case 
we  think  it  may  be  seriously  doubted 
whether  the  non-resisting  spirit  of  the 
New  Testament  precepts  does  not  re- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


277 


quire  us  rather  to  follow  the  example 
of  the  martyrs,  who  overcame  by  '  not 
loving  their  lives  unto  death.'  If  man 
were  contemplated  merely  in  reference 
to  his  earthly  existence,  we  do  not 
know  that  there  could  be  any  doubt  on 
the  subject ;  but  when  we  take  into 
view  the  fiict  that  he  is  to  live  forever, 
that  his  present  state  and  actions  are 
intimately  connected  with  a  system  of 
retributions  that  extend  into  eternity, 
we  cannot  be  sure  that  the  moral  ijn- 
pression  of  an  example  of  meek,  un- 
resisting suil'ering  at  the  hands  of  wick- 
ed or  cruel  men,  may  not  be  more  im- 
portant to  the  best  interests  of  the  uni- 
verse, than  that  of  the  contrary  course. 
The  immediate  effect  is  no  doubt  dis- 
astrous to  him  who  is  the  victim,  and 
It  is  for  the  time  an  apparent  unrecom- 
pensed  triumph  of  might  over  right. 
But  still,  considering  how  easily  God 
can  compensate  in  another  world  such 
a  noble  sacrifice  for  the  apprehended 
honor  of  his  name,  and  also  what  a 
tendency  it  has  to  awaken  all  the  vir- 
tuous sensibilities  of  the  universe  in 
reprobation  and  vindication  of  such  an 
outrage  upon  suffering  innocence,  we 
cannot  satisfy  ourselves  that  the  gospel 
precepts,  '  resist  not  evil,'  '  avenge  not 
yourselves,'  are  not  to  be  understood 
in  their  broadest  and  most  literal  ac- 
ceptation, as  far  as  the  taking  of  human 
life  in  self-defence  is  concerned. 

As  the  great  point  aimed  at  in  this 
commandment  is  the  security  of  human 
life,  it  of  course  levels  its  prohibition 
against  wilful  murder,  suicide,  duelling, 
offensive  v/ar,  all  the  slaughter  flowing 
from  sanguinary  laws,  oppressions,  per- 
secutions, and  whatever  tends  directly 
to  shorten  our  own  lives,  or  those  of 
others.  The  spirit  of  the  precept  plain- 
ly interdicts  all  those  callings,  occupa- 
tions, and  practices  which  are  injurious 
to  the  health  or  safety  of  the  commu- 
nity, such  as  the  manufacture  or  sale  of 
articles  of  diet  or  beverage  which  we 
have  every  reason  to  believe  will  be 

Vol.  I  24 


abused,  to  the  hurt  or  the  death  of 
men's  bodies,  to  say  nothing  of  tlieir 
effects  on  the  undying  soul.  In  like 
manner  all  incompetent  practice  of  the 
medical  art ;  all  competing  trials  of 
speed  in  steamboats  ;  all  pugilistic  com- 
bats, and  whatever  goes  to  wound,  crip- 
ple, or  maim  the  body,  and  thus  endan- 
ger life,  comes  fairly  within  the  range 
of  what  is  forbidden  by  the  sixth  com- 
mandment. As  far  as  the  spiritual  im- 
port of  the  command  is  concerned,  it  is 
clear,  from  tlie  New  Testament  inter- 
pretation, that  all  envy,  revenge,  hatred, 
malice,  or  sinful  anger;  all  that  insult- 
ing language  which  provokes  to  wrath 
and  murder  ;  and  all  undue  indulgence 
of  that  pride,  ambition,  or  covetous- 
ness,  which  prompt  to  it,  are  virtually 
prohibited  by  the  precept,  'Thou  shalt 
not  kill.'  Mat.  5.  21, 22, 'Ye  have  heard 
that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time, 
Thou  shalt  not  kill  ;  and  whosoever 
shall  kill,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the 
judgment:  But  I  say  unto  you,  that 
whosoever  is  angry  with  his  brother 
without  a  cause,  shall  be  in  danger  of 
the  judgment :  and  whosoever  shall  say 
to  his  brother,  Raca,  shall  be  in  danger 
of  the  council :  but  whosoever  shall  sa)', 
Thou  fool,  shall  be  in  danger  of  hell- 
fire.'  1  John,  3.  15 — 17,  '  Whosoever 
hateth  his  brother,  is  a  murderer :  and 
ye  know  that  no  murderer  hath  eternal 
life  abiding  in  him.  Hereby  perceive 
we  the  love  of  God,  because  he  laid 
down  his  life  for  us:  and  we  ought  to 
lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren.  But 
whoso  hath  this  world's  good,  and  seeth 
his  brother  have  need,  and  shuttcth  up 
his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him, 
how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him.' 

THE   SEVENTH    COMMANDMENT. 

14.  Thou  shall  not  commit  adultery. 
Heb.  t|!S::n  i<^  lo  tinaph.  The  original 
root,  DjKD  ndaph  in  its  primary  and  legi- 
timate import  denotes  adultery  in  the 
strict  and  exclusive  sense  of  tiie  term,  or 
that  unlawful  commerce  of  the  sexes 


278 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


which  takes  place  between  parties  one  or 
both  of  whom  arc  married.  It  is  thus  dis- 
tinguished from  ri2T  zanah,  the  word  ap- 
plied to  lewdness,  fornication,  or  whore- 
dom in  general.  This  is  plain  from  pre- 
dominant usage.  Thus  Lev.  20.  10,  'And 
the  man  that  committeth  adultery  (t^'HC^ 
yinaph)  with  another  man's  wife,  even 
he  that  committeth  adultery  {t\'ili,T'  yi- 
naph) with  his  neighbor's  wife,  the 
adulterer  (f|J^D  noiph)  and  the  adul- 
teress (n&iO  nodpheth)  shall  surely  be 
put  to  death.'  Ezek.  16.  32,  'As  a  wife 
that  committeth  adultery  {lr&^1i)ZT\  ham- 
menciapheth),  which  taketh  strangers 
instead  of  her  husband.'  Hos.  4.  14, 
'Therefore  your  daughters  shall  commit 
whoredom  (n!]"'3tri  tizni'nah),  and  your 
spouses  shall  commit  adultery  (n3£:5<2n 
teniiaphnah).''  Prov.  6.  32,  'Whoso rom- 
mitteth  adultery  (w)50  no'eph)  with  a 
woman  lacketh  understanding.'  That 
'  woman'  here  is  equivalent  to  '  wife' 
is  evident  from  its  being  immediately 
added  ;  'For  jealousy  is  the  rage  of  a 
man  ;  therefore  he  will  not  spare  in  the 
day  of  vengeance  ;'  implying  that  he 
would  be  prompted  severely  to  avenge 
his  wife's  dishonor.  In  accordance  with 
this  we  find  this  precept  rendered  in  the 
Greek  by  a  term  {fioi-)(rvix))  which  al- 
ways signifies  what  in  our  language  is 
termed  adultery.  Mat.  5.  32,  'Whoso- 
ever shall  put  away  his  wife  saving  for 
the  cause  of  fornication,  causeth  her  to 
commit  adultery  (nofyaaOat)  ;  and  who- 
sover  sliall  marry  her  that  is  divorced 
committeth  adultery  (noi^yarai).'  This 
was  because  that  in  the  eye  of  the  di- 
vine law  she  w^as  still  considered  as 
rightfully  the  wife  of  the  divorcing  hus- 
band. Rom.  7.  3,  'So  then,  if  while  her 
husband  liveth,  she  be  married  to  an- 
other man,  she  shall  be  called  an  adul- 
teress (/^loi'yuXfs)  :  but  if  her  husband 
be  dead,  she  is  free  from  that  law;  so 
that  she  is  no  adulteress  (ini)(a}^iO 
though  she  be  married  to  another  man.' 
Nor  is  there  any  other  passage  through- 
out the  New  Testament  where  ^loi^cia, 


adultery,  is  used  to  signify  any  other 
species  of  uncleanness.  The  appropri- 
ate  Greek  term  for  sins  of  lewdness  in 
general  is  nopvcia  usually  rendered /or- 
nication.  But  this  latter  term  in  Scrip- 
ture usage  is  of  much  wider  import  than 
the  former;  in  fact  it  includes  the  form- 
er in  numerous  instances.  Thus  a  mar- 
ried woman,  Mat.  5.  32 — 19.  9,  is  said 
to  be  guilty  of  nof.vtta,  which  our  trans- 
lators have  rendered/o?-7ifca/ion,  though 
her  crime  is  really  adultery.  Accord- 
ingly both  nopvcia  and  i.toi^eia  are  used, 
Rev.  2.  21,22,  in  reference  to  an  adul- 
terous intercourse  ;  'I  gave  her  space  to 
repent  o{  her  fornication  {iropieia)  ;  and 
she  repented  not.  Behold,  I  will  cast 
her  into  a  bed,  and  them  that  commit 
adultery  (fioi^evovTas)  with  her,'  &c. 
Again,  a  man  that  has  his  father's  wife, 
and  so  is  guilty  of  incest,  is  said  to  be 
guilty  of  Tjopveia,  1  Cor.  5.  1,  'It  is  re- 
ported  commonly  that  there  is  fornica- 
tion {iropvEni)  among  you,  and  such  for- 
nication (rropveia)  as  is  not  SO  much  as 
named  among  the  Gentiles,  that  one 
should  have  his  father's  wife.'  Here 
it  is  evident  that  the  word  must  be  un- 
derstood to  mean  in  general  any  unlaw- 
ful kind  of  sexual  commerce,  of  which 
incest  is  one.  For  it  cannot  be  supposed 
that  the  apostle  meant  to  say  that  for- 
nication was  not  named  among  the  Gen- 
tiles ;  as  it  was  in  fact  very  common. 
But  what  he  designs  to  say  is  this,  that 
out  of  many  kinds  of  iropvcia  there  was 
one,  viz.,  a  man's  having  his  father's 
wife,  which  was  not  heard  of  among  the 
Gentiles,  notwithstanding  they  were  in 
great  measure  given  up  to  fornication. 
Comp.  to  the  same  effect  Rev.  17,  1,  2. 
— IS.  3.  Hos.  3.  3,  from  all  which  it  is 
evident  that  Tropvtui  is  a  general  term, 
including  under  it  every  species  of  illicit 
sexual  connexion,  and  answers  perhaps 
correctly  to  our  English  word  lewdness 
or  licentiousness. 

From  the  scope  of  the  foregoing  re- 
marks it  cannot,  we  think,  be  question- 
ed that  the  seventh  commandment  is 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


279 


pointed  primarily  and  predominantly 
against  the  sin  of  adultery.  Conse- 
quently the  words  of  Christ,  Mat.  5.  27, 
28,  are  doubtless  to  be  understood  as  re- 
ferring especially  to  tliis  precept  thus 
understood  ;  *Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath 
been  said  by  them  of  old  time,  Thou 
shalt  not  commit  adultery.  But  I  say 
unto  you,  that  whosoever  looketh  on  a 
woman  to  lust  after  her  hath  committed 
adultery  with  her  already  in  his  heart.' 
Our  Savior  is  here  explaining  the  Law  ; 
the  Law,  as  we  have  seen,  employs  a 
term  in  the  present  precept  which  is 
exclusively  applied  to  signify  adultery; 
and  as  adultery,  which  is  here  charged 
upon  the  lustful  look,  cannot  be  com- 
mitted with  a  '  woman'  who  is  not  at 
the  same  time  a  '■  wife,'  the  inference 
•would  seem  to  be  inevitable  that  '  wo- 
man' {yvvT])  in  this  passage  is  synoni- 
mous  with  '  wife'  or  married  woman, 
it  being  the  same  term  as  we  find  used 
for  'wife,'  v.  31,  32,  and  elsewhere 
throughout  the  New  Testament.  (See 
Bloomfield  in  loc).  But  although  we 
feel  bound,  as  faithful  expositors,  to 
state  the  true  sense  of  the  terms  em- 
ployed in  important  connexions,  it  is 
not  in  this  or  any  other  instance  with  a 
view  to  lower  down  the  standard  of  re- 
quisition in  the  divine  precepts.  On  the 
same  principles  on  which  we  have  in- 
terpreted the  other  commandments,  we 
are  constrained  to  give  this  also  so 
much  latitude  as  to  embrace  jl  prohibi- 
tion of  all  the  sins  usually  included  un- 
der it.  These  will  be  easily  ascertained 
■when  we  consider  the  grand  design  of 
this  commandment,  viz.,  the  preserva- 
tion and  promotion  of  the  general  hap- 
piness of  men  in  their  covjugal  and  do- 
mestic relations.  For  this  end  God  him- 
self has  instituted  marriage.  It  is  by 
means  of  this  wise  and  gracious  ordi- 
nance that  he  has  provided  for  the 
regulation  of  those  strong  instinctive 
passions  upon  which  the  propagation  of 
the  race  depends,  and  nothing  is  clearer 
than  that  a  general  disregard  of  this  in-  I 


stitution  would  inevitably  make  havoc 
of  the  peace,  purity,  and  highest  wcl- 
fiire  of  society.  While  therefore  the 
sanctity  of  the  marriage  relation  is  the 
first  object  aiiyed  to  he  secured  by  this 
precept,  it  points  its  jjrohibition  at  the 
same  time  against  every  thing  that  is 
contrary  to  the  spirit  and  ends  of  that 
institution,  whether  in  thought,  word, 
or  deed.  And  as  marriage  is  the  sole 
and  exclusive  provision  made  by  the 
Creator  to  meet  the  demands  of  that 
part  of  our  nature  which  the  seventh 
commandment  contemplates,  every  spe- 
cies of  sensual  conmierce  between  the 
sexes  except  that  which  comes  under 
its  sanction,  is  doubtless  to  be  viewed 
as  a  violation  of  this  precept,  as  also 
every  thing  that  goes  by  legitimate 
tendency  to  produce  it.  All  the  arts 
and  blandishments  resorted  to  by  the 
seducer ;  all  the  amorous  looks,  mo- 
tions, modes  of  dress,  and  verbal  insinu- 
ations which  go  to  provoke  the  passions 
and  make  way  for  criminal  indulgence  ; 
all  writing,  reading,  publishing,  vend- 
ing, or  circulating  obscene  books  ;  all 
exposing  or  lustfully  contemplating  in- 
decent pictures  or  statues  ;  all  support 
of  or  connivance  with  the  practices  of 
prostitution,  whether  by  drawing  a  re- 
venue from  houses  of  infamy,  or  winking 
at  the  abominations  of  their  inmates; 
partake  more  or  less  of  the  guilt  of  vio- 
lating the  seventh  commandment.  We 
have  only  to  glance  at  the  pages  of 
the  sacred  volume  to  perceive  that  sins 
against  the  law  of  chastity  are  more  fre- 
quently forbidden,  more  fearfully  threat- 
ened, and  marked  by  more  decisive  to- 
kens of  the  divine  reprobation,  than  per- 
haps those  of  any  other  part  of  the  Dec- 
alogue. Not  only  is  adultery  the  name 
under  which  Jehovah  stigmatises  the 
sin  of  idolatrous  apostacy  from  him,  but 
fornication  and  uncleanness  are  found  in 
almost  every  black  catalogue  of  crime 
in  the  Scriptures,  and  the  informations 
of  history,  which  are  but  another  name 
for  the  dealings  of  God's  providence, 


280 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


15  u  Thou  shalt  not  steal. 

ul.ev.   19.   11.     Dcut.  5.  19.     Matt.  19.  18. 
Komi.  13.9.     1  Tliess.  4.  6. 

make  it  evident  that  sins  of  this  class 
have  been  the  cause  of  iflore  individual 
crime,  shame,  disease,  misery,  and 
death,  and  of  more  public  debasement 
and  ruin  than  any  other.  What  rivers 
of  remorseful  tears,  what  myriads  of 
broken  hearts,  what  wide  spread  wrecks 
of  happiness,  what  legacies  of  shame, 
reproach,  and  infamy,  what  fruits  of 
perdition,  have  followed  and  are  still 
following  in  the  deadly  train  of  this  de- 
stroyer !  The  disclosures  of  the  great 
day  relative  to  this  sin,  its  perpetrators, 
procurers,  and  consequences,  will  prob- 
ably make  the  universe  stand  aghast. 
'However  it  may  be  accounted  for,  says 
Paley,  '  the  criminal  commerce  of  the 
sexes  corrupts  and  depraves  the  mind 
and  moral  character  more  than  any  sin- 
gle species  of  vice  whatsoever.  That 
ready  perception  of  guilt,  that  prompt 
and  decisive  resolution  against  it,  which 
constitutes  a  virtuous  character,  is  sel- 
dom found  in  persons  addicted  to  these 
indulgences.  They  prepare  an  easy  ad- 
mission for  every  sin  tliat  seeks  it ;  are, 
in  low  life,  usually  the  first  stage  in 
men's  progress  to  the  most  desperate 
villanies,  and,  in  high  life,  to  that  la- 
mented dissoluteness  of  principle  which 
manifests  itself  in  a  profligacy  of  public 
conduct,  and  a  contempt  of  the  obliga- 
tions of  religion  and  moral  probity.' 
'These  declarations,'  says  Dr.  Dwight, 
'I  have  long  since  seen  amply  verified 
in  living  examples.' — Would  we  then 
seek  an  elfoctual  preservative  against 
the  undue  predominance  of  those  flesh- 
ly lusts  which  war  against  the  soul,  let 
us  earnestly  and  devoutly  pray  for  those 
purifying  influences  from  above  which 
shall  '  cleanse  us  from  all  filthiness  of 
flesh  and  s])irit,'  and  makes  us  meet 
temples  for  the  Holy  Ghost  to  dwell 
in,  remembering  that  'he  that  defileth 
the  temple  of  God,  him  will  God  de- 


1 6  w  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  wit- 
ness against  thy  neighbour. 

^  ch.  23.  1.  Dent.  5.  20.  &  19.  10.  Matt.  19.  18. 


stroy.'  Let  us  cultivate  universal  puri- 
ty, in  secret  as  well  as  openly,  and  feel 
that  the  strictest  government  over  all 
our  propensities,  senses,  and  passions 
is  an  incumbent  duty  upon  every  one  who 
would  act  upon  the  safe  and  salutary 
principle  of  the  apostle,  'I  keep  under 
my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection, 
lest  that  by  any  means  when  I  have 
preached  to  others,  I  myself  should  be 
a  castaway.' 

THE   EIGHTH    COMMANDMENT. 

15.  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  Heb.  i*^ 
Djri.n  lo  tignab.  Gr.  oi,  kIcxI'ih.  The 
original  ^:3  ganab  is  the  usual  word 
for  steal,  and  has  nothing  peculiar  in 
its  import  to  require  a  special  investi- 
gation. The  scope  of  the  command- 
ment  is  to  secure  the  right  of  property. 
It  prescribes  the  mode  in  which  love  to 
our  neighbor  is  to  operate  in  this  re- 
spect. The  subject  of  property  is  one 
of  great  extent,  and  by  its  various  rela- 
tions entering  largely  into  the  elements 
of  human  happiness.  While  God  is  him- 
self the  great  Proprietor,  the  ultimate 
Lord  and  Disposer  of  all  things,  he  has 
established  a  constitution  of  things  by 
virtue  of  which  every  man  is  not  only 
entitled  himself  to  the  products  of  his 
own  labor,  but  authorised  also  to  make 
it  over  or  bequeath  it  to  his  posterity 
or  heirs.  It  is  the  wrongful  abstraction 
or  invasion  of  this  property/  which  the 
eighth  commandment  is  designed  to 
prohibit ;  and  of  all  the  forms  of  viola- 
tion of  this  precept  none  is  more  palp- 
able, more  gross,  or  more  highly  pro- 
voking to  God  than  that  of  depriving  a 
man  of  the  product  of  his  labors  by  de- 
priving him  of  himself.  This  is  the 
most  aggravated  form  of  stealing  of 
which  it  is  possible  to  be  guilty,  or 
even  to  conceive.  Whatever  may  be 
said  of  other  possessions,  a  man's  per- 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


281 


son  is  his  own  ;  his  life  is  his  own  ;  his 
liberty  is  his  own.  He  who  takes  them 
away  without  his  consent,  and  without 
any  crime  on  his  part,  steals  them.  And 
surely  stealing  men  is  so  much  a  greater 
crime  than  stealing  money,  as  a  human 
being  holds  a  higher  rank  in  the  scale 
of  existence  than  inert  and  senseless 
matter.  The  eighth  commandment  then 
forbids  distinctly  and  peremptorily  all 
despotic  enslaving  of  our  fellow-men, 
of  whatever  condition  or  color,  or  of 
exercising  absolute  lordship  over  them  ; 
because  those  acts  virtually  deprive  hu- 
man beings  of  that  property  in  them- 
selves with  which  the  Creator  endowed 
them.  This  is  a  usurpation  of  the  rights 
of  man  which  no  usage,  law,  or  custom 
can  legalize  in  the  sight  of  heaven.  No 
title  can  make  good  my  claim  to  an- 
other's person  ;  no  deed  of  inheritance 
or  conveyance  transmit  it  to  a  third 
party.  There  is  but  one  Being  com- 
petent to  make  the  conveyance,  and  he 
has  never  done  it.  Every  man  under 
God  owns  himself.  He  has  a  right  to 
himself  Avhich  no  other  man  can  chal- 
lenge. I  may  be  lawfully  restrained,  pun- 
ished, and  even  executed  by  just  laws, 
but  I  can  never  be  owned.  I  can  never 
be  in  the  siglit  of  heaven  either  serf  or 
slave.  I  cannot  sell  myself;  no  other 
can  sell  me.  Though  I  may  for  a  con- 
sideration make  over  to  another  my 
right  to  my  services,  yet  the  right  to 
myself  is  no  more  alienable  by  myself 
than  by  another.  God  gave  me  myself 
to  keep,  and  his  ownership  alone  in  mc 
am  I  bound  to  recognize. 

Subordinate  to  this  are  various  forms 
of  the  breach  of  this  commandment,  of 
many  of  which  no  human  laws  take 
cognizance.  The  essence  of  dishonesty 
is  the  possessing  ourselves  of  that  which 
rightfully  belongs  to  another.  This 
maybe  done  in  an  almost  infinite  va- 
riety of  ways.  Fraudulent  bargains, 
■which  impose  on  the  ignorant,  the  cred- 
ulous, or  the  necessitous  ;  contracting 
debts  which  one  is  unable  to  pay  j  ex- 
24* 


tortion  and  exorbitant  gain ;  control- 
ling the  markets  by  stratagem,  and  thus 
obtaining  inordinate  prices  for  one's 
commodities ;  entering  into  combina- 
tions unduly  to  raise  or  to  depress 
wages  ;  taking  unjust  advantage  of  in- 
solvent laws  ;  exacting  usurious  interest 
for  money  ;  uimecessary  subsistence  on 
charity  ;  evading  the  duties  and  taxes 
imposed  by  government,  or  in  any  way 
defrauding  the  public,  whetlier  by  em- 
bezzling its  treasures  or  encroaching 
upon  its  domain  ;  using  false  weights 
and  measures  ;  removing  landmarks  ; 
keeping  back  the  wages  of  servants  and 
hirelings  ;  withholding  restitution  for 
former  wrongs  ;  refusing,  when  able,  to 
pay  debts  from  which  we  have  obtained 
a  legal  release — all  these  are  violations 
of  the  eighth  commandment,  and  as 
such  falling  under  the  special  condem- 
nation of  heaven.  A  slight  considera- 
tion of  the  spirit  of  this  precept  will 
show  that  it  reaches  also  beyond  out- 
ward acts,  and  prohibits  inordinate  love 
of  the  world,  covetousness,  and  the 
pride  of  life  ;  that  it  requires  industry, 
frugality,  sobriety,  submission  to  God's 
providence  ;  in  a  word,  a  disposition  to 
do  to  t:ll  others,  in  respect  to  worldly 
property,  as  we  would  that  they  should 
do  to  us. 

THE  NINTH  COMMANDMENT. 

16.  Thou  shall  not  bear  false  ivitness 
against  thy  neighbor.  Heb.  n25>n  N^ 
lo  taaneh,  thou  shall  not  ansicer.  That 
is,  more  especially  when  cited  to  give 
testimony  before  a  judicial  tribunal. 
The  drift  of  the  precept,  in  its  original 
import,  is  more  fully  laid  open,  Deut. 
19.  16 — 19,  '  If  a  false  witness  rise  up 
against  any  man  to  testify  against  him, 
that  which  is  wrong  ;  then  both  the 
men,  between  whom  the  controversy  is 
shall  stand  before  the  Lord,  before  the 
priests,  and  the  judges,  which  shall  be 
in  those  days ;  and  the  judges  shall 
make  diligent  inquisition  ;  and  behold, 
if  the  witness  be  a  false  ivitness,  and 


282 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  14yh 


hath  testified  falsely  against  his  brother; 
Then  shall  ye  do  unlo  him,  as  he  had 
thought  to  have  done  unlo  his  brother : 
so  shalt  thou  put  the  evil  away  from 
among  j-ou.'  This  precept  dilicrs  from 
the  three  preceding  in  the  fact  that 
vhile  they  have  respect  to  injuries  done 
by  deeds  or  actions,  this  has  reference 
to  wrongs  done  by  words.  The  pre- 
dominant sense  of  bearing  witness  is 
clearly  recognised  in  the  verb  in  this 
connection  in  the  Gr.  ov  xhtvionaoTvpnoen, 
thou  shalt  not  falsely  testify,  and  m  the 
Chal.,  Sam.,  Syr.,  and  Arab.,  all  which 
render  it  testify.  Yet  the  term  is  of 
large  import,  equivalent  to  utter,  pro- 
nounce, declare,  and  while  the  letter 
admits,  the  spirit  of  the  precept  re- 
quires, that  it  should  here  be  under- 
stood as  forbidding  every  thing  that  is 
contrary  to  strict  veracity  in  our  com- 
munications with  our  fellow  men.  We 
say, 'with  our  fellow  men,'  for  though 
the  jihrase  'against  thy  neighbor,^  might 
seem  to  limit  it  to  the  narrower  circle 
of  our  immediate  neighbors,  yet  the  in- 
terpi'etation  given  to  the  term  by  our 
Savior,  in  the  parable  of  the  good  Sa- 
maritan, plainly  teaches  us  that  a  more 
extended  application  is  to  be  assigned 
it.  It  is,  in  fact,  equivalent  to  other 
7«a7j,  whether  acquaintance  or  stranger, 
friend  or  foe.  This  precept  therefore 
constitutes  the  law  ol"  love  as  it  respects 
our  neighbor's,  that  is,  every  other 
man's,  good  name.  And  as  one  of  the 
principal  ways  in  which  his  interest  in 
this  respect  may  be  injured  is  by  hav- 
ing false  witness  borne  against  him  in 
courts  of  justice,  this  is  made  the  lead- 
ing and  primary,  but  not  the  exclusive, 
point  of  the  proliibition.  Lying  in  this 
form  is  denominated  '  perjury,'  and  so 
far  as  this  sin  is  concerned,  the  ninth 
commandment  is  closely  related  to 
the  third,  which  forbids  the  taking  of 
God's  name  in  vain,  as  is  always  done 
in  a  false  oath.  The  difference  between 
them  jirobably  lies  in  this,  that  in  the 
third  perjury  is  condemned  as  a  gross 


impiety  towards  God,  irrespective  of 
any  wrong  done  thereby  to  our  neigh- 
bor ;  while  in  this  prohibition  the  head 
and  front  of  the  oftending  is  the  false 
and  injurious  charge  preferred  against 
our  neighbor.  This  is  a  more  heinous 
crime  than  common  extra-judicial  false- 
hood, inasmuch  as  it  is  usually  more 
deliberate,  and  by  the  sentence  to  which 
it  leads  often  involves  in  itself  the  guilt 
of  robbery  and  murder,  as  well  as  that 
of  calumny.  Accordingly,  we  find  the 
purport  of  this  commandment  other- 
wise, yet  very  emphatically  expressed, 
Lev.  19.  16,  'Thou  shalt  not  go  up  and 
down  as  a  tale-bearer  among  thy  peo- 
ple ;  neither  shalt  thou  stand  against 
the  blood  of  thy  neighbor.^  That  is, 
thou  art  not  to  stand  as  a  false  witness 
against  thy  neighbor,  whereby  his  blood, 
his  life,  might  be  endangered.  But  if 
we  ourselves  are  not  permitted,  in  ju- 
dicial matters,  thus  to  injure  our  neigh- 
bor by  bearing  false  witness  against 
him,  so  neither  are  we  to  procure  or  en- 
courage it  in  others.  Consequently  the 
suborning  false  witnesses  is  hereby  con- 
demned ;  and  it  plainly  behoves  legal 
counsel  in  managing  the  causes  of  their 
clients  to  guard  against  a  virtual  per- 
version of  the  truth  that  shall  amount 
to  a  bearing  of  false  witness  ;  nor  should 
the  verdict  of  inspiration  be  forgotten, 
that '  he  that  justifieth  the  wicked,  and 
he  that  condemneth  the  just,  are  both 
alike  an  abomination  unto  the  Lord.' 

But  the  scope  of  the  prohibition  em- 
braces a  multitude  of  aberrations  from 
the  strict  law  of  sincerity  and  veracity 
embodied  in  this  precept,  which  at  the 
same  time  have  nothing  to  do  with  ju- 
dicial proceedings.  Of  this  we  are  to 
judge  by  comparing  them  with  those 
incidental  explications  of  the  ninth  com- 
mandment which  occur  here  and  there 
both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 
Nothing  can  be  clearer  than  that  truth, 
sincerity,  fidelity,  candor,  are  required 
to  be  the  governing  law  in  all  our  com- 
munications with  our  fellow  men ;  and 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


283 


consequently,  whatever  is  contrary  to 
this  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  this  pre- 
cept. 'Lying  lips  arc  an  abomination 
to  the  Lord.'  '  Wherefore,'  says  the 
apostle,  '  putting  away  all  lying,  speak 
every  man  the  truth  with  his  neighbor.' 
'Lie  not  one  to  another,  seeing  lliat  ye 

Shave  put  olf  the  old  man  with  his  deeds.' 
J  Thus  too,  in  the  Levitical  code,  *  Ye 

•  shall   not   steal,   neither   deal   falsely, 

neither  lie  one  to  another.''     Thus  also, 
to  'walk  uprightly,  to  work  righteous- 
ness, and  to  speak  the  truth  in  his  hcart,^ 
are   the   first   lineaments   in   the   good 
man's  character  as    portrayed   by  the 
Psalmist,  Ps.   15.  2.      Now  if  this  re- 
quirement of  universal  truthfulness  be 
not  contained  in  the   ninth  command- 
ment, it  is  not  embraced  at  all  in  the^ 
Decalogue  ;    and   it  is   scarcely  to   be 
supposed   that   a  sin,  which  is   every 
where  spoken  of  with  the  most  marked 
abhorrence,  and  one  of  which  it  is  said, 
that   those  who   are  characteristically 
guilty  of  it  'shall  have  tlieir  part  in  the 
lake  that  burneth  with  fire  and  brim- 
stone,' and  that  '  whatsoever  worketh 
abomination  or  maketh  a  lie,-  shall  be 
excluded  from  the  holy  city,  is  not  in- 
tended to  be  expressly  forbidden  in  the 
perfect  law  of  God.      The   command- 
ment  evidently  has  its  foundation  in 
that  character  which  is  given  of  the 
Most  High  in  the  words  of  inspiration, 
Deut.  32.  4,  ^A  God  of  truth,  and  with- 
out iniquity,  just  and  righteous  is  he.' 
From  this  view^  of  the  grounds  and  the 
tenor  of  the  injunction,  it  will  be  evi- 
dent at  a  glance,  that  not  only  false 
witness  in  a  court,  but  false  statements 
in   common  discourse,  false  promises, 
whether   deliberate    or  careless,  exag- 
gerations and  high  colorings  of  facts, 
equivocation  and  deceit  by  word  or  sign, 
hypocritical    professions    and    compli- 
ments, together  with  slandering,  back- 
biting,  tale-bearing,   circulating  mali- 
cious reports,  imputing  evil  designs,  or 
making  injurious  representations  with- 
out sufficient  proof,  are  all  direct  in-  1 


I  fractions  of  the   spirit  of   this    com- 
.  mand.     These  are  all  obvious  methods 
of  working  ill  to  our  neighbor,  of  pre- 
judicing  his  reputation,  and  injuring  or 
destroying  his  usefulness  and  his  peace, 
and  consequently  cannot  consist  with 
the  law  of  love. 
\      As  to  such  cases  as  those  of  Abra- 
;  ham,  Jacob,  Moses,  the  Hebrew  mid- 
j  wives,  Rahab,  and  David,  who  are  of- 
1  ten  alleged,  on  certain  occasions  in  their 
I  lives,  to  have  been  guilty  of  gross  equi- 
I  vocation,  we  must  refer  the  reader  to 
I  the  remarks  made  on  those  particular 
I  points  of  their  conduct  in  the  notes  ap- 
j  pended  to  their  respective  histories.     It 
will  there  appear  that  an  important  dis- 
tinction is  to  be  made  between  telling 
a  falsehood,  and  concealing  the  truth, 
or  a  part  of  the  truth,  from  those  who 
have  no  right  to  demand  it.     While  the 
one  is  always  wrong,  the  other  is  in 
some  instances  unquestionably  right. 

As  a  preventative  or  preservative,  on. 
the  score  of  the  })rcsent  prohibition, 
nothing  is  more  important  than  that 
parents,  guardians,  and  teachers,  should 
aim  to  check  this  perverse  propensity 
in  its  earliest  developments.  Children 
are  prone  to  'go  astray  from  the  womb 
speaking  lies.'  A  '  lying  spirit'  seems 
to  be  more  or  less  indigenous  to  the 
soil  of  the  human  mind,  and  without 
the  most  assiduous  culture  is  difficult 
to  be  expelled.  A  heedless  example  in 
this  respect  in  parents  themselves,  has- 
tily uttered  and  soon  forgotten  threats 
and  promises,  a  slighter  punishment  for 
lying  than  almost  any  other  fault,  will 
be  sure  to  confirm  this  evil  habit  in 
their  offspring,  and  probably  to  the  ul- 
timate sorrow  and  affliction  of  their 
hearts. 

THE  TENTH  COMMANDMENT. 

17.  Thou  Shalt  not  covet,  kc.  Heb. 
l^^nTi  it^  lo  tahmod.  The  general  im- 
port of  the  root  17211  hamad  is  to  de- 
sire earnestly,  to  long  for,  to  lust  after ^ 
or  in   the  simpler  English  phrase,  ic 


284 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


17  X  Thou   shalt  not  covet   thy  '  covet  thy  neighbour's  wife,  nor  his 
neighbour's  house,  y  thou  shalt  not    man-servant,  nor  his  maid-servant, 
xDeut.  5.  21.    Mic.2.2.    Hab.  2. 9.    Luke  !  ^0^  his  OX,  nor  his  ass,   nor  any 
Rom.  7.  7.  &  13.  9.  I  thing  that  is  thy  neighbour's. 


12.    15.     Acts  20.  33 

Eph.  5.3,  5.    Hebr.  13.  5.    y  Job  31.  9 

G.  29     Jer.5.  8.     Matt.  5.  28. 


9. 
Prov. 


covet.  In  the  parallel  passage,  Deut. 
5.  21,  this  word  is  rendered  desire,  and 
another  equivalent  term,  covet;  'Nei- 
ther shall  thou  desire  (Tl^nn  tahmod) 
thy  neighbor's  wife,  neither  shalt  thou 
covet  (nlSiun  tithavveh)  thy  neighbor's 
house,'  &c.  The  affection  or  emotion 
expressed  by  the  term  is  not  in  itself 
sinful,  but  becomes  so  by  reason  of  the 
circumstances  or  the  degree  in  which  it 
is  indulged.  Accordingly,  it  is  not  sim- 
ply and  absolutely  said  in  this  com- 
mandment, '  Thou  shalt  not  covet,' 
as  in  the  preceding  commandments, 
'  Thou  shalt  not  kill,'  'Thou  shalt  not 
steal,'  &c.,  but  a  variety  of  objects  are 
specified,  towards  which,  in  their  rela- 
tions to  others,  this  inward  emotion  is 
not  to  go  forth.  In  the  present  connexion, 
the  word  strictly  signifies  to  desire  to 
have  as  our  own  what  belongs  to  our 
neighbor  to  his  loss  or  prejudice,  or 
without  his  consent ;  and  it  implies  that 
degree  of  propensity  or  appetency  to- 
wards an  object  which  usually  prompts 
to  the  obtaining  it,  or  which  immedi- 
ately precedes  an  actual  volition  to  that 
effect.  A  simple,  passing,  evanescent, 
wish  to  possess  any  thing  valuable  or 
agreeable,  which  we  see  to  belong  to 
our  neighbor,  is  no  doubt,  in  thousands 
of  cases,  the  mere  prompting  of  an  in- 
nate and  instinctive  desire,  which  is  in 
itself  innocent,  and  probably  the  very 
same  feeling  which  prompted  our  neigh- 
bor himself  innocently  to  procure  it. 
A  man  may  desire  an  increase  of  his 
property,  without  having  a  covetous  or 
even  a  discontented  heart.  Such  wishes 
are  the  moving  spring  to  all  worldly 
enterprise  and  prosperity,  without  which 
the  various  businesses  of  life  would 
languish  and  die.  But  the  longing  im- 
pulse in  such  cases  becomes  sinful  when 


I  it  becomes  excessive,  and  amounts  to 
I  what  is  termed  in  the  Scriptures  an 
I  '  evil  concupiscence.'  This  will  usually 
be  the  result  where  one  is  in  the  habit 
of  setting  his  neighbor's  possessions  in 
contrast  with  his  own,  and  of  dwelling 
with  grieved,  grudging,  or  envious  feel- 
ings upon  the  fancied  superior  advan- 
tages of  his  lot.  There  can  be  no  harm 
in  desiring  a  neighbor  to  sell  me  his 
house  for  the  real  value  of  it ;  but  it  is 
wrong  to  desire  to  possess  the  house  to 
his  prejudice,  or  by  means  of  injustice 
or  violence.  That  coveting  a  man's 
wife  also,  which  is  here  forbidden,  is 
not  so  much  the  desire  of  an  adulterous 
intercourse  with  her  while  she  remains 
his  wife,  though  this  is  expressly  for- 
bidden, as  desiring  that  she  may  cease 
to  be  his  wife,  and  become  the  wife  of 
the  coveting  person.  Among  the  Jews 
there  were  two  ways  in  which  this 
might  be  done  ;  either  by  a  divorce,  or 
by  the  death  of  the  husband.  Accord- 
ingly, he  that  transgressed  this  branch 
of  the  commandment,  did  really  desire 
either  that  she  Avould  obtain  a  divorce 
from  her  husband,  or  wish  that  he  was 
dead  ;  for  except  upon  one  or  the  other 
of  these  conditions  he  could  not  hope  to 
enjoy  her  as  his  own.  God  therefore 
forbade  this  coveting,  because  he  that 
earnestly  desired  that  a  divorce  might 
ensue,  would  be  very  apt  to  take  mea- 
sures to  procure  its  being  effected  ;  and 
he  that  secretly  cherished  the  desire  of 
the  death  of  a  man,  in  order  to  possess 
himself  of  his  wife,  would  be  under  a 
strong  temptation  to  put  him  out  of  the 
way,  provided  he  thought  he  could  do 
it  with  impunity,  of  which  we  have  a 
striking  example  in  the  case  of  David 
and  Uriah.  In  like  manner,  coveting 
my  neighbor's  house   is   nothing  else 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


285 


than  earnestly  wishing  that  it  may  cease 
to  be  his  property  and  become  mine. 
Coveting  his  servant  too,  is  not  merely 
wishing  that  he  might  now  and  then 
serve  me,  wiiile  he  remains  his,  but 
that  he  should  cease  to  be  his  servant, 
and  thenceforth  stand  in  that  relation 
to  me.  As  therefore  we  are  required  by 
the  command  to 'remember  the  sabbath 
day,'  to  do  that  which  such  a  remem- 
brance would  naturally  prompt,  so  the 
prohibition  against  coveting,  forbids  also 
all  the  actual  effects  that  legitimately 
flow  from  the  harboring  and  cherishing 
the  interdicted  affections  and  passions. 
From  this  the  general  scope  of  the 
prohibition  is  manifest.  It  is  evidently 
intended  as  a  safeguard  planted  around 
all  the  rest.  It  aims  to  regulate  the 
heart,  out  of  which,  says  our  Savior, 
^proceed  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adul- 
teries, fornications,  thefts,  false  wit- 
ness, blasphemies.'  By  forbidding  the 
indulgence  of  all  inordinate  desires,  it 
mounts  up  to  the  fountain  head,  from 
whence  flow  the  manifold  evils  for- 
bidden in  the  Decalogue.  While  the 
other  precepts  mainly,  though  not  ex- 
clusive!)^, command  us  to  abstain  from 
injurious  actions,  this  requires  us  to  re- 
press covetous  inclinations.  That  it  is 
a  precept  comprising  the  utmost  spirit- 
uality of  the  law,  and  effectually  refut- 
ing the  theory  that  it  recognizes  as  vio- 
lations only  the  gross  outward  act,  is 
clear  from  the  apostle's  reference,  Rom. 
7.  7,  8,  'I  had  not  knowii  sin  but  by  the 
law  ;  for  I  had  not  known  lust,  except 
the  law  had  said.  Thou  shalt  not  covet.' 
The  precept  therefore  reaches  deep  into 
the  interior  springs  of  action,  and  lays 
its  interdict  upon  the  very  first  risings 
of  that  dincontcnted  spirit  which  is  the 
prolific  germ  of  all  unliallowed  lustings. 
To  be  dissatisfied  with  what  we  have 
is  to  desire  something  which  we  have 
not  ;  and  as  most  things  which  we  have 
not  are  in  the  possession  of  our  fellow 
men,  there  is  but  a  step  between  desir- 
ing what  is  not  our  own  and  coveting 


what  is  another's.  How  necessary  then 
is  it  to  cultivate  a  contented  spirit ! 
Not  that  we  arc  forbidden  to  improve 
our  condition ;  but  we  are  required  to 
keep  our  minds  free  from  a  corroding, 
complaining,  dissatisfied  feeling  in  view 
of  the  allotmonts  of  God's  providence. 
There  must  be  no  envy  expressed  or 
unexpressed  towards  our  fellow  men  ; 
no  cherished  habits  of  comparing  their 
prosperity  with  our  adversity,  their 
wealth  with  our  poverty,  their  blessings 
with  our  trials  ;  for  in  this  there  is  tl)e 
very  essence  of  ingratitude  and  rebellion. 
To  specify  the  innumerable  forms  in 
which  a  covetous  spirit  shows  its  per- 
nicious effects  would  require  a  volume 
instead  of  a  few  paragraphs,  but  that 
the  force  of  the  subject  may  not  lose 
itself  in  mere  generalities,  we  may  ob- 
serve that  avarice,  or  the  sordid  love  of 
gain  for  its  own  sake,  may  perhaps  be 
considered  as  leading  the  van  in  the 
train  of  the  sins  forbidden  by  the  tenth 
commandment.  This  vile  idolatry  of 
silver  and  gold  sets  its  subject  in  an 
attitude  of  the  most  direct  opposition 
to  the  demands  of  the  last  precept  of 
the  Decalogue.  Instead  of  leaving  men 
content  ivith  a  moderate  sufficiency  of 
the  good  things  of  life,  or  with  that 
gradual  process  of  accumulation  which 
coincides  with  the  usual  order  of  provi- 
dence, a  spirit  of  avarice  goads  them 
on  with  restless  eagerness  to  grasp  at 
greater  and  greater  possessions,  to  malce 
haste  to  be  rich,  and  to  form  schemes 
of  wealth  which  are  seldom  can-ied  into 
execution  without  fraud,  chicanery,  ex- 
tortion, and  oppression.  From  those 
measures  of  gain  which  are  usually  free 
from  reproach,  the  transition  is  easy 
and  natural  to  the  spirit  and  the  prac- 
tices of  hazardous  and  rash  speculation, 
and  thence  to  downright  gaming,  where 
the  turn  of  a  die  is  allowed  to  fix  one's 
lot  in  misery  for  life,  and  entail  long 
years  of  anguish  upon  an  innocent  fam- 
ily. Let  us  then  jiray  the  prayer  which 
invokes  '  neither  riches  nor  poverty.'' 


286 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  M91. 


Let  us  aim  to  have  engraven  upon  the 
tablets  of  our  souls  the  inspired  decla- 
ration, that  '  godliness  with  content- 
ment is  great  gain/  and  by  '  coveting 
earnestly  the  best  gifts/  avoid  the  dan- 
ger of  every  other  form  of  covetousness. 

Such  then  is  that  remarkable  code  of 
moral  duty  comprised  in  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, spoken  by  the  great  Law- 
giver of  the  universe  at  Mount  Sinai. 
In  view  of  it,  we  cannot  but  be  remind- 
ed of  the  solemn  appeal  made  by  Moses 
to  Israel,  Deut.  4.  8,  '  What  nation  is 
there  so  great,  that  hath  statutes  and 
judgments  so  righteous  as  all  this  Law 
which  I  set  before  you  this  day?' 
Hitherto  the  Most  High  had  declared 
the  perfections  of  his  nature  by  the 
mighty  acts  which  he  had  put  forth  in 
a  way  of  favor  to  his  people  and  of 
vengeance  to  his  enemies.  But  in  the 
Law  before  us  he  condescended  to  open 
his  mouth,  and  with  liis  own  majestic 
voice,  to  proclaim  in  their  ears  his 
name,  his  attributes,  and  his  will.  And 
what  language  is  adequate  to  describe 
the  deference,  the  awe,  with  Avhich  its 
every  sentence  should  be  pondered,  its 
every  demand  responded  to !  If  we 
look  with  respect  and  veneration  upon 
the  monuments  of  legislative  wisdom 
handed  down  to  us  from  a  remote  an- 
tiquity— if  the  laws  of  Solon  and  Ly- 
cnrgus,  and  the  tables  and  pandects  of 
the  Roman  jurisprudence,  are  entitled 
to  our  admiration — with  what  profound 
reverence  should  we  contemplate  the 
enactments  of  the  infinite  Jehovah,  the 
sovereign  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
the  source  of  all  power  and  dominion, 
'by  whom  kings  rule  and  princes  de- 
cree justice.'  All  human  codes  may  in 
one  sense  be  considered  as  emanating 
indirectly  from  God,  inasmuch  as  he  is 
the  author  of  the  faculties  by  which 
they  were  prompted,  and  has,  in  his 
moral  administration  of  the  world,  giv- 
en them  a  providential  sanction  by  re- 
•juiring  obedience  to  them  in  the  ex- 


press injunction  ;  'Obey  the  powers  that 
be.'  But  in  the  Law  of  Sinai  we  read  a 
system  of  statutes  that  lias  emanated 
directly  from  God,  and  that  distin- 
guishes itself  at  once  from  all  human 
codes,  which  take  cognizance  of  overt 
acts  only,  by  pointing  its  requirements 
at  the  inward  dispositions  and  affec- 
tions of  the  heart.  Every  one  of  its 
several  precepts  condemns,  not  merely 
the  outward  act  which  it  expressly  pro- 
hibits, but  the  indulgence  of  all  those 
evil  passions,  propensities,  or  senti- 
ments, which  would  lead  to  it ;  enjoin- 
ing at  the  same  time  an  opposite  con- 
duct and  the  cultivation  of  opposite 
dispositions.  In  this  extensive  inter- 
pretation of  the  commandments  Ave  are 
warranted,  not  merely  by  the  deductions 
of  reason,  but  by  the  letter  of  the  Law 
itself.  The  addition  of  the  last  'Thou 
shalt  not  covet,'  proves  clearly  that  in 
all,  the  disposition  of  the  heart,  as  truly 
as  the  immediate  outward  act,  is  the 
object  of  the  divine  Legislator ;  and 
thus  it  forms  a  comment  on  the  mean- 
ing, as  well  as  a  guard  for  the  observ- 
ance of  all  the  preceding  precepts.  Un- 
derstood in  this  natural  and  rational 
latitude  of  import,  how  comprehensive 
and  momentous  is  this  summary  of 
moral  duty  !  How  every  way  worthy 
of  the  source  from  whence  it  springs  .' 
It  inculcates  the  adoration  of  the  one 
true  God  who  made  heaven  and  earth, 
the  sea  and  all  that  in  them  is,  who 
must  therefore  be  infinite  in  power,  wis- 
dom and  goodness,  and  entitled  to  the 
profoundest  i'ear,  homage,  and  gratitude 
of  his  intelligent  creatures.  It  prohibits 
every  species  of  idolatry  ;  whether  by 
associating  false  gods  with  the  true,  or 
worshipping  the  true  by  symbols  and 
images.  In  forbidding  the  taking  the 
name  of  God  in  vain,  it  enjoins  the  ob- 
servance of  all  outward  respect  for  the 
divine  authority,  as  well  as  the  cultiva- 
tion of  inward  sentiments  and  feelings, 
suited  to  this  outward  reverence.  It 
establishes  the  obligation  of  oaths,  and, 


B.  C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


287 


by  consequence,  that  of  all  compacts 
and  deliberate  promises  ;  a  principle, 
without  which  the  adniinistralion  of 
laws  would  be  impracticable,  and  the 
bonds  of  society  must  be  dissolved.  By 
commanding  to  keep  holy  the  sabbath, 
as  a  memorial  of  the  creation,  it  estab- 
lishes the  necessity  of  public  worship, 
and  of  a  stated  and  outward  profession 
of  the  truths  of  religion  with  a  corres- 
!  ponding  frame  of  heart.  So  kind  and 
I  considerate  are  the  provisions  of  this 
'  precejjt,  that  the  rest  of  the  sabbath  is 
made  to  include  the  menial  classes,  the 
sojourning  stranger,  and  even  the  labor- 
ing cattle ;  thus  evincing  that  the  Crea- 
tor of  the  universe  extended  his  care  to 
all  his  creatures  ;  that  the  humblest  of 
mankind  were  the  objects  of  his  pater- 
nal care  ;  that  no  accidental  differences 
causing  alienation  among  different  na- 
tions, would  alienate  any  from  the  di- 
vine regard ;  and  that  even  the  brute 
creation  shared  the  benevolence  of  the 
universal  Father,  and  ought  to  be  treat- 
ed by  men  with  gentleness  and  hu- 
manity. 

When  we  proceed  to  the  second  ta- 
ble, comprising  more  especially  our  so- 
cial duties,  we  find  equal  matter  of  ad- 
miration in  the  principles  which  they 
recognize  and  enforce.  The  precept 
which  proclaims  'Honor  thy  father  and 
thy  mother,'  sanctions  the  practice,  not 
merely  of  filial  obedience,  bat  of  all 
those  duties  which  arise  from  our  do- 
mestic relations,  and  impresses  the  im- 
portant conviction  that  the  entire  Law 
proceeds  from  a  Legislator  able  to 
search  and  judge  the  inmost  actings  of 
the  heart.  The  subsequent  commands 
coincide  with  the  clearest  dictates  of 
reason,  and  prohibit  crimes  which  hu- 
man laws  have  in  general  prohibited  as 
plainly  destructive  of  social  happiness. 
But  it  was  of  infinite  importance  to  rest 
the  proliibitions,  <Thou  shalt  not  kill,' 
•Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,'  'Thou 
shalt  not  steal,'  'Thou  shalt  not  bear 
false  witness,'  on  the  weight  of  divine 


authority,  and  not  merely  on  the  de- 
ductions of  human  reason.  The  de- 
praved passions  of  men,  idolatrous  de- 
lusions, and  false  ideas  of  ])ublic  good, 
would  be  an  over  match  for  tlie  re- 
straints which  they  impose  without  a 
higher  sanction  than  their  own  salutary 
tendency.  Indeed  we  have  only  to  com- 
pare the  precepts  of  the  Decalogue  with 
the  tone  of  moral  sentiment  which  then 
prevailed  throughout  tlie  world,  to  re- 
cognize upon  it  at  a  single  glance  the 
stamp  of  divinity.  In  one  ccuntry  we 
see  theft  allowed,  if  perpetrated  with 
address  ;  in  another  piracy  and  rapine 
allowed,  if  conducted  with  intrepredity. 
Sometimes  we  see  adultery  and  the  most 
unnatural  crimes  not  only  permitted  and 
perpetrated  without  shame  or  remorse, 
but  every  species  of  impurity  enjoined 
and  consecrated  as  a  part  of  divine 
worship.  In  others,  we  find  revenge 
honored  as  manly  spirit,  and  death  in- 
flicted at  its  impulse  wdth  savage  tri- 
umph. Again  we  see  every  feeling  of 
nature  outraged,  and  parents  exposing 
their  helpless  children  to  perish  for  de- 
formity of  body,  or  from  mercenary  or 
political  views.  Finally,  we  see  false 
religions  leading  their  deluded  follow- 
ers to  heap  their  altars  wdth  human  vic- 
tims. The  master  butchers  his  slave, 
the  conqueror  his  captive ;  nay,  to 
crown  the  horrors  of  the  recital,  the 
parent  sacrifices  his  tender  offspring, 
drowning  their  heart-rending  shrieks 
with  tlie  noise  of  cymbals  and  the  yells 
of  fanaticism  !  These  abominations  have 
disgraced  ages  and  nations  which  we 
are  accustomed  to  celebrate  as  civilized 
and  enlightened.  Babylon  and  Egy})t, 
Phenicia  and  Carthage,  Greece  and 
Rome,  have  all  had  their  legislators 
who  enjoined,  or  their  philosophers  who 
defended  these  horrid  barbarities  and 
crimes.  The  same  or  similar  enormi- 
ties are  still  found  to  be  practised  among 
various  heathen  communities  where  the 
light  of  revelation  has  not  yet  pene- 
trated.   What  a  contrast  do  we  heboid 


288 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  1491. 


18  If  And  z  all  the  people  a  saw  the 
thunderings,  and  the  lie^h tilings, and 
the  noise  of  the  trumpet,  and  the 

z  Hebr.  12.  18.     a  Rev.  1.  If),  12. 

in  turning  from  these  revolting  outrages 
upon  reason  and  humanity  to  the  wise, 
just,  upright,  and  benignant  code  pro- 
mulgated by  Jehovah  in  the  Law  of  the 
ten  commandments !  Here  we  behold 
a  code  inculcating  clearly  and  authori- 
tatively the  two  great  principles  upon 
which  all  true  piety  and  virtue  depend, 
and  which  our  blessed  Lord  recognized 
as  having  the  whole  Law  and  the  Proph- 
ets hung  upon  them,  Love  to  God  and 
Love  to  our  Neighbor.  'Hear,  O  Is- 
rael, the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord  ;  and 
thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  (\od  with 
all  thy  soul,  with  all  thine  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  might.'  Thus  also,  'Thou 
shalt  not  avenge  nor  bear  any  grudge 
against  the  children  of  thy  people,  but 
thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  a^  thyself  J 
Such  is  the  moral  constitution  with 
which  we  in  the  providence  of  God  are 
favored  ;  by  which  we  are  to  be  judged  ; 
and  according  to  which  we  are  to  frame 
the  course  of  our  lives  and  order  the 
temper  of  our  hearts.  Under  a  sense 
of  our  moral  impotence  we  cannot  in- 
deed but  exclaim  with  the  apostle, 
'Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?'  but 
thanks  be  to  God  that  in  the  gospel  of 
his  grace  he  hath  provided  an  obedi- 
ence to  the  Law  infinitely  better  than 
our  own,  of  which  every  one  to  whom 
the  message  comes  is  invited,  through 
faith,  to  avail  himself  to  the  joy  of  his 
heart  and  the  salvation  of  his  soul. 


mountain  ^ smoking:  and  when 
the  people  saw  it,  they  removed, 
and  stood  afar  off. 

brh.19.  18. 


18.  And  all  the  people  saw  the  thun- 
derings.  Heb.  tl^pH  tlfit  d^J^'i  roim 
eth  hakkoloth,  {were)  seeing  the  voices. 
Gr.  tMon  7-r?)'  (jiMvriv,  saw  the  voice;  the 
usual  scriptural  term  for  thunder.  The 
phraseology  is  Hebraic,  of  which  we 
have  already  considered  a  parallel  spe- 
cimen, Gen.  42.  1.    The  term  appropri- 


ate to  the  sense  of  seeing  is,  from  the 
superiority  of  that  sense,  here  used  in 
reference  to  objects  of  hearing,  and 
would  be  more  properly  rendered  by 
the  English  word  perceive,  which  is  ap- 
plicable to  any  of  the  senses.  Comp. 
Rev.  1.  12,  'And  I  turned  to  see  the  voice 
that  spake  with  me,'  Jer.  2.  31,  'O 
generation,  see  the  word  of  the  Lord ;' 
i.  e.  hear, receive,  apprehend  appreciate 

it. IT  Lightnings.     Heb.  tD'^l^&^n 

hallappidim,  lamps  or  torches;  so  called 
probably  because  a  flash  of  lightning 
somewhat  resembles  the  light  of  a  torch 
suddenly  and  rapidly  waved  to  and  fro 
by  the  hand.     See  Note  on  Gen.  15.  17. 

IT  The  noise  of  the  trumpet.     Heb. 

"iCTrri  ^1p  kol  hashshopher,  the  voice 
of  the  trumpet.  The  portentous  sounds 
of  the  trumpet  and  the  thunder,  which 
had  ushered  in  the  day  and  which  con- 
tinued to  be  heard  while  the  people  were 
assembling  at  the  base  of  the  mountain, 
probably  ceased  while  the  words  of  the 
law  were  pronounced  in  an  articulate 
voice  by  Jehovah,  but  were  again  re- 
sumed, and  perhaps  with  increased  in- 
tensity, as  soon  as  the  delivery  of  the 
Decalogue  was  completed.  The  con- 
sequence was,  that  the  phenomena  of 
the  scene  were  too  overpowering  for  the 
people.  It  was  a  manifestation  too  aw- 
ful for  human  endurance,  and  accord- 
ingly, as  the  Apostle  tells  us,  Heb.  12. 
19,  'They  could  not  endure  the  things 
which  were  spoken,'  and  '  they  which 
heard  entreated  that  the  word  should 
not  be  spoken  to  them  any  more.'  Some 
have  supposed  that  had  it  not  been  for 
the  terror  and  the  remonstrances  of  the 
people  God  would,  after  a  little  interval, 
have  proceeded  and  delivered  the  re- 
maining laws,  statutes,  and  judgments 
in  the  same  manner.  But  of  this  we  see 
uo  sufficient  evidence,  either  from  the 


B.C.  1491.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


28^ 


19  And  they  said  unto  Moses, 
c  Speak  thou  with  us,  and  we  will 
hear :  but  d  let  not  God  speak  with 
us,  lest  we  die. 

20  And  Moses  said  unto  the  peo- 
ple, e  Fear  not :  f  for  God  is  come 

c  Ueut.  5.  27.  i  18.  16.  Gal.  3.  19,  20.  Hebr. 

12.  19.  d  Deut.  5.  25.  e  i  Sam.  12.  20.  Isai.  41. 
10,13.     f  Gen.  22.  1.     Deut.  13.  3. 

words  of  the  present  narrative,  or  from 
the  more  full  detail  of  incidents  record- 
ed, Deut.  5.  22 — 31,  which  the  reader 
will  find  it  interesting  to  compare  with 
the  account  before  us.  The  essential 
character  and  scope  of  the  ten  com- 
mandments, as  compared  with  the  rest 
of  the  Mosaic  code,  would  make  it 
proper  that  it  should  be  promulgated  in 

a  different  manner. IT  Removed.  Heb. 

152'^'1  va-yanu-u.  The  root  5>1D  nua 
is  used  not  only  to  convey  the  idea  of 
physical  motion,  or  removal,  but  also  of 
mental  disturbance,  agitation,  or  trem- 
bling. Accordingly  the  Gr.  renders  it 
by  ii)o;ir\OevTei,  affrighted,  and  the  Chal. 
in  the  same  manner;  'And  the  people 
saw  and  trembled  and  stood  afar  off.' 
So  also  the  Lat.  Vulg.  'Terrified  and 
panic-struck.'  We  have  little  doubt  that 
this  is  the  genuine  sense  of  the  term. 
It  expresses  at  least  that  degree  of 
mental  emotion  which  would  naturally 
prompt  to  a  bodily  removal. 

19.  And  they  said  unto  Moses,  &c. 
This  it  appears  from  Deut.  5.  23,  was 
done  through  the  medium  of  the  elders 
ind  heads  of  the  congregation,  who 
r;ame  from  the  people  to  Moses,  while 
he  remained  in  his  place.  For  he  says 
•.n  the  passage  just  cited  that  '  they 
came  near  unto  him,'  when  they  spake 
these  words ;  which  implies  that  they 

were  at  some  distance  before. IT  Lest 

ice  die.  Upon  this  popular  belief  among 
the  chosen  people  in  ancient  times,  see 
Notes   on   Gen.   16.  13.    Judg.  6.  22.— 

13.  22. 

20.  And  Moses  said  unto  the  people, 
Fear  not,  &c.  Moses  encourages  and 
>jom forts  them  against  thai  fear  of  im- 

VoT..  I  2.5 


to  prove  you,  and  g  that  his  fear 
may  be  before  your  faces,  that  ye 
sin  not.  ^ 

21  And  the  people  stood  afar  off, 
and  Moses  drew  near  unto  ^  the 
tnick  darkness  where  God  was. 

g  Deut.  4.  10.  &6.2.  &  10. 12.  &  17.  13, 19.  & 
19.  20.  &  28.  58.  1- rov.  3.  7.  &  16.  6.  Isai.  8. 13. 
1>  ch.  19.  16.  Deut.  5.  5.   1  Kings  8.  12. 

mediate  death  which  they  appear  to 
have  entertained,  and  at  the  same  time 
assures  them  that  from  fear  of  another 
kind  they  were  not  by  any  means  to 
be  freed.  Indeed  it  was  one  special 
design  of  the  present  array  of  terrors  to 
inspire  them  with  it.  The  language 
marks  very  clearly  the  distinction-  be- 
tween the  fear  which  has  torment, 
which  flows  from  conscious  guilt,  which 
genders  to  bondage,  and  which  drives 
away  from  God,  and  that  salutary  fear 
which  prompts  to  a  deep  reverence  ol 
the  divine  Majesty,  and  habitually  influ- 
ences the  conduct, IT  To  prove  you. 

Heb.  TilDD  nassoth,  to  try,  to  tempt. 
Upon  the  import  of  this  term  see  Note 
on  Gen.  22.  1,  respecting  God's  tempta- 
tion of  Abraham.  Instead  of  coming  to 
consume  them,  he  had  come  to  put  their 
obedience  to  a  fresh  proof;  to  give  them 
a  more  signal  opportunity  than  ever  be- 
fore to  evince  their  deference  and  de- 
votedness  to  his  will.  All  the  fearful 
accompaniments  of  this  august  manifes- 
tation, were  intended  to  impress  them 
with  a  profound  regard  to  the  authority 
and  majesty  of  Jehovah,  and  thus  to  re- 
strain them  from  sinning  against  him. 

21.  Moses  drew  near,  &c.  Heb.  TU3D 
niggash,  was  made  to  draw  near;  the 
form  of  the  verb  being  passive.  Ol 
his  own  motion  Moses  would  scarcely 
have  durst  to  venture  into  the  thick 
darkness  from  which  ever  and  anon 
tlie  appalling  gleams  of  lightning  burst 
forth ;  but  being  specially  called  and 
encouraged  of  God,  he  was  virtually 
taken  by  the  hand  and  led  up  into  the 
precincts  of  the  divine  presence.  The 
incident  plainly  pointed  to  their  and  our 


290 


22  H  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Mo  1 
ses,  Thus  thou  shalt  say  unto  the 
children  of  Israel  ;  Ye  have  seen 
that  I  have  talked  with  you  i  from 
heaven. 

iDeut.  4.  36.    Neh.9.  13 

need  of  a  Mediator  in  all  our  attempts 
to  deal  with  a  God  of  immaculate  purity 

and   inflexible  justice. IT  Unto  the 

thick  darkness  where  God  was.  Chal. 
'Where  the  Glory  of  the  Lord  was.' 
Targ.  Jon.  'Where  the  Glory  of  the 
Shekinah  of  the  Lord  was.'  The  orig- 
inal word  for  'thick  darkness'  (^i'^JJ 
araphel)  is  rendered  in  the  Greek  of  the 
New  Testament,  Heb.  12.  18,  dveWa, 
which  properly  denotes  a  storm  or  tem- 
pest, and  so  also  it  is  rendered  by  the 
Sept.  Duet.  4.11,  and  5. 22,  in  both  which 
cases  the  English  translation  is  '  thick 
darkness.'  The  idea  is  probably  that 
of  just  such  a  dark,  lowering,  threaten- 
ing cloud  as  is  usually  with  us  attend- 
ed by  raging  whirlwinds,  tempests,  and 
rain. 

22.  The  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  &c. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  verse 
contains  the  ground  and  reason  of  the 
prohibition  in  the  next ;  but  the  exact 
chain  of  sequence  which  connects  the 
two  together,  is  not  perfectly  obvious 
from  the  face  of  the  narrative.  But 
upon  referring  to  the  parallel  passage. 
Dent.  4.  14 — 16,  where  a  more  detailed 
account  is  given  of  the  solemn  trans- 
actions of  Sinai,  we  seem  to  be  furnish- 
ed with  a  clue  to  the  connexion.  'And 
the  Lord  commanded  me  at  that  time 
to  teach  you  statutes  and  judgments, 
that  ye  might  do  them  in  the  land 
■whither  ye  go  over  to  possess  it.  Take 
ye  therefore  good  heed  unto  yourselves  ; 
(for  ye  saw  no  manner  of  similitude 
on  the  day  that  the  Lord  spake  unto 
you  in  Horeb  out  of  the  midst  of  the 
fire)  ;  Lest  ye  corrupt  yourselves,  and 
make  you  a  graven  image,  the  simili- 
tude of  any  figure,  the  likeness  of  male 
or  female,'  &c.    From  this  we  gather 


EXODUS.  [B.  C.  1491 

23  Ye  shall  not  make  I'with  me 
g-ods  of  silver,  neither  shall  ye  make 
unto  you  gods  of  gold. 

k  ch.  32.  1,  2,  4.  1  Sam.  5.  4,  5.  2  Kings 
17.  33.  Ezek.  20.  39.  &  43.  8.  Dan.  5.  4,  23. 
Zeph.  1.5.    2  Cor.  6.  14,  15,  16. 


that  the  injunction  before  us  is  equiva- 
lent to  saying,  'Ye  have  seen  the  man- 
ner in  which  I  appeared  and  spake  with 
you  from  heaven.  Ye  yourselves  are 
witnesses  that  no  manner  of  similitude, 
no  visible  figure  or  form,  nothing  which 
could  be  represented  by  any  pictorial  or 
sculptured  semblance,  entered  into  the 
scenery  that  then  struck  your  senses. 
Therefore  do  not  think  of  embodying 
your  conceptions  of  me  in  a  material 
image.  Do  not  dishonor  and  degrade 
me  by  dividing  my  worship  with  thai 
of  gods  of  silver  or  of  gold.  I  will  have 
no  participation  with  images  or  idols, 
the  work  of  your  own  hands.' 

23.  Ye  shall  not  make  with  me  gods, 
&c.  Heb.  ins*  "^TCyn  5*^1  to  taasun 
itti,  correctly  rendered,  ye  shall  not 
make  with  me;  i.  e.  ye  shall  not  make 
to  worship  in  conjunction  with  me ; 
plainly  implying  that  this  could  not  be 
done  without  making  them  rivals  with 
him.  The  Chal.  has  however  '  before 
me  ;'  and  this  seems  to  be  occasionally 
the  force  of  the  equivalent  particle  tO? 
im.  Thus,  Est.  7.  8,  '  Then  said  the 
king.  Will  he  force  the  queen  also  be- 
fore  me  (1>22>  immi)  in  the  house  ?'  So 
2  Sam.  6.  7,  'And  then  he  died  by  the 
ark  (V'^2!^  '05'  ini  aron)  of  God,'  com- 
pared with  the  parallel  expression,  1 
Chron.  13.  10,  'And  there  he  died  before 
God  (Q^-i^i^  "135^1  liphne  Elohim.y  By 
gods  of  silver  and  of  gold  is  plainly 
meant  idols  made  of  those  materials, 
although  in  accommodation  to  popular 
usages  of  speech  he  dignifies  them  with 
the  title  of  gods.  Thus  the  Israelites 
when  they  made  the  golden  calf  in  the 
wilderness  (which  in  Acts,  7.  41,  is  ex- 
pressly termed  an  idol),  are  said  Ex. 
32.  8,  31,  to  have  'made  them  gods  of 


B.  C.  1491.J 


CHAPTER  XX. 


291 


21  H  An  altar  of  earth  thou  shalt 
make  unto  me,  and  slialt  sacrilice 
thereon  thy  burnt-o'Verings,  and 
thy  peace-oflerings,  i  thy  sheep, 
and  thine  oxen :  in  all  n^  places 
where   I  record  my  name  1  will 

iLev.  l.«.  mDeut,  12.  5,  1 1,  21.  &  14,  23. 
&  16.  fi,  11.  &  2().  2.  1  Kings  8.  1.3.  &  l>.  3. 
2  Ihroii.  6.  6.  &  7.  16.  &  12-  13.  Kzia  6,  12. 
Neh.  1.9.     Ps.  74.  7.    Jer.  7.  10,  12. 

gold,'  and  the  idols  or  images  of  the 
Philistines,  2  Sam.  5,  2! 5    1  Chron.  14. 

12,  are  called  their  ^  gods,'  The  words 
of  this  verse  are  a  virtual  repetition  of 
the  second  commandment,  and  point 
to  that  sin  to  which  God  foresaw  the 
peculiar  addictedness  of  his  chosen  peo- 
ple. Their  whole  subsequent  history 
sJiows  us  that  idolatry  was  their  be- 
setting iniquity,  and  cou.sequently  that 
against  which  of  all  others  they  most 
needed  to  be  put  upon  their  guard.  If 
the  true  worship  of  the  true  God  were 
corrupted,  every  thing  would  be  sure  to 
go  wrong. 

24.  An  altar  of  earth  thou  shalt  make, 
&c.  Tliis  was  a  temporary  regulation, 
having  respect  to  snch  occasional  altars 
as  were  erected  on  special  emergencies, 
of  which  see  instances,  Judg.  6.  24. — 

13.  10.  1  Sam.  7.  17.  They  were  made 
by  heaping  up  a  quantitj'  of  earth,  and 
covering  it  with  green  turf.  As  God 
designed  to  have  the  worship  of  his 
people  eventually  concentrated  at  one 
place,  he  would  not  allow  the  rearing 
of  altars  of  durable  materials  or  finished 
workmanship  elsewhere,  lest  his  main 
purpose  should  be  frustrated.- — IT  Shall 
sacrifice  thereon — thy  peace-offerings. 
Heb.  "l"^?:^!:  shelam'ikn,  lit.  pay-offer- 
ings, compensations,  retributions.,  paci- 
fications, from  'z''^'^  shalam,  to  make  up, 
to  make  good,  restore,  repay,  and  thence 
to  make  up  a  difference,  to  effect  a  re- 
concilation,  to  be  at  peace.  In  this  case 
the  idea  would  perhaps  be  better  con- 
veyed by  the  phrase  '  welfare-offerings,' 
or  '  thank-oflferings,'  i.e.  offerings  eli- 
cited by  a  grateful  sense  of  the  div  no 


come  unto"  thee,  and  I  will  n  bless 
thee. 
25  And  «if  thou  will  make  me  an 
altar  of  stone,  thou  shalt  not  build 
it  oi"  hewn  stone,  for  if  thou  lift  up 
thy  tool  upon  it,  thou  hast  polluted 
it. 


n  Oen,   12.  2.     Dent.  7.  13. 
Josh  8.  31. 


Deut.  27.5. 


goodness  to  the  offerer.  The  English 
reader  might  suppose,  from  the  present 
rendering,  '  peace-offerings,'  that  they 
were  oblations  presented  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  peace  or  reconciliation  with 
God  ;  but  this  was  the  design  rather  of 
the  '  burnt-offerings,'  which  were  strict- 
ly jjropifia/ori/  in  their  nature,  whereas 
the  *  peace-offerings'  were  merely  eu- 
charistical.  For  the  use  of  the  word 
'  peace,'  in  the  sense  of  '  welfare,'  see 

Note  on  Gen.  29.  6. IT  In  all  places 

where  I  record  my  name.  Heb.  ^'i^T!*^ 
■^^^ID  ni^  azkir  eth  she7ni,  make  my 
name  to  he  remembered.  Chal.  'In  every 
place  where  I  shall  make  my  Glory  to 
dwell.'  Gr.  'Where  I  shall  name  my 
name.'  The  meaning  is,  in  all  places 
which  I  shall  appoint  for  the  celebra- 
tion of  my  name,  for  the  performance 
of  my  worship. 

25,  Thou  shalt  not  build  it  of  hewn 
stone.  The  reason  of  this  probably 
was,  that  carved  and  wrought  stone 
usually  expressed  some  kind  of  simili- 
tude or  image  which  might  turn  to  an 
occasion  of  superstition  ;  besides  that 
they  would  be  apt  to  be  of  a  more 
durable  nature,  and  therefore  more  ea- 
sily  converted  to  monuments  of  idol- 
atry. It  is  possible,  moreover;  that  this 
might  be  forbidden  to  the  Israelites,  in 
op])osition  to  the  practices  of  the  hea- 
then, who  built  tlieir  altars  of  hewn 
stones,  and  by  having  them  curiously 
wrought  and  adorned,  rendered  them 
more  attractive  as  places  of  worship. 

IT  If  Ihou  lift  up  thy  tool  upon  it 

thou  ha.st  polluted  it.  Not  that  tlie  tool 
it  elf  har^  the  power  of  pollutioD,  but 


292 


EXODUS. 


[B.  C.  149}. 


26  Neither  shall  thou  go  up  by 
steps  unto  mine   altar,    that   thy 

the  work  was  polluted  or  defiled  by  be- 
ing done  contrary  to  the  express  com- 
mand of  heaven. 

26.  Neither  shalt  thou  go  up  by  steps, 
&c.  The  reason  is  subjoined.  As  the 
garments  of  the  priests  were  long  and 
flowing,  their  ascending  a  flight  of  steps 
might  indecorously  expose   their  per- 


nakedncss  be  not  discovered  there- 
on. 


sons.  The  ascent  to  the  altar  of  the 
tabernacle  was  therefore  undoubtedly 
by  a  gentle  slope,  and  a  still  farther 
precaution  against  the  inconvenience  in 
question  was  afterwards  adopted  in  the 
kind  of  garments  prescribed  to  the 
priests. 


THE    SHEKINAH. 


As  this  is  a  term  of  very  frequent  occurroncc  in  the  Notes  composing  the 
present  work,  and  one  conveying  a  meaning  of  vast  importance  to  the  right  ex- 
position of  numerous  passages  in  the  Scriptures,  we  have  concluded  to  devote  a 
few  supplementary  pages  to  its  elucidation.  Whatever  impressions  of  the  in- 
trinsic moment  of  the  subject  the  reader  may  have  received  from  our  previous 
allusions  to  it,  we  have  no  doubt  thej'^  will  be  materially  deepened  by  the  results 
of  the  critical  enquiry  upon  which  we  now  enter.  If  it  were  merely  a  point  of* 
curious  antiquarian  research,  of  the  same  class  with  the  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt, 
or  even  the  monumental  records  of  the  chosen  people  themselves,  we  should 
deem  its  claims  upon  our  attention  comparatively  slight.  But  involving,  as  we 
are  persuaded  it  does,  an  important  clue  to  the  true  nature  of  the  divine  mani- 
festations recorded  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  their  relation  to  the  person  and 
character  of  Christ,  we  know  of  no  theme  iii  the  whole  compass  of  revelation 
that  more  imperiously  demands  to  be  investigated.  It  is  not  possible  indeed 
that  our  present  limits  should  allow  of  full  justice  being  done  to  the  discussion, 
but  we  may  still  be  able  to  present  it  in  a  somewhat  more  prominent  light  than 
is  done  in  any  of  our  previous  or  subsequent  annotations. 

The  etymology  of  the  term  first  claims  our  notice.  The  Hebrew  word  HS'^iJD 
shekinah  comes  by  the  most  normal  mode  of  formation  from  the  root  'pD 
shakan,  which  signifies  to  du-ell,  to  dwell  in,  to  inhabit,  but  more  usually  spoken 
of  that  kind  of  dwelling  common  to  nomade  tribes,  viz.,  in  tents  or  tabernacles. 
The  derivative  HD'^^IU  shekinah  is  defined  by  Buxtorf  (Lex.  Rabbin,  voc.  ^p'd^) 
to  signify  primarily  habitation  or  cohabitation,  but  as  being  spoken  more  par- 
ticularly of  the  divine  presence,  glory,  and  majesty,  or  of  the  Divinity  itselt 
when  it  is  said  to  be  present  to  men,  or  to  converse  with  them,  or  to  vouchsafe 
to  them  its  sensible  and  gracious  aid.  He  remarks,  moreover,  that  it  is  com- 
monly explained  by  the  Rabbinical  writers  of  the  divine  glory  or  majesty  in  its 
external  manifestation,  as  something  present  and  dwelling  among  men.  Ac- 
cordingly the  following  among  hundreds  of  other  passages  are  rendered  by  the 
Chaldee  Targum  of  Onkelos  and  Jonathan  conformably  to  this  definition  ;  Ps. 
74.  2,  'Remember  thy  congregation  which  thou  hast  purchased  of  old;  this 
mount  Zion  wherein  thou  hast  dwelt.''  Chal.  'Wherein  thou  hast  made  thy 
Shekinah  to  dwell.'  Num.  10.  36,  'Return,  0  Lord,  unto  the  many  thousands  of 
Israel.'  Chal.  'Return  now,  0  Word  of  the  Lord,  to  thy  people  Israel,  make  the 
glory  of  thy  Shekinah  to  dwell  among  them,  and  have  mercy  on  the  thousands 
of  Israel.'  Num.  11.20,  'Ye  have  despised  the  Lord  which  is  among  you.' 
Chal.  *Ye  have  despised  the  Word  of  the  Lord  whose  Shekinah  dwelleth  among 
you.'  Hag.  1.  8,  'Go  up  to  the  mountain,  and  bring  wood,  and  build  the  house, 
and  I  will  take  pleasure  in  it,  and  will  be  glorified,  saith  the  Lord.'  Chal.  'And 
25* 


294  THE   SHEKINAH. 

I  will  make  my  Shekinah  to  dwell  there  in  glory.'  Ps.  85.  10,  'His  salvation  is 
nigh  them  that  fear  him,  that  glory  may  dwell  in  our  land.'  This  is  distinctly 
explained  by  Aben  Ezra  as  meaning  that  the  Shekinah  may  be  established  in 
the  land.  * 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  passages  to  the  same  effect  ad  libitum,  for  even 
the  voluminous  citations  of  Buxtorf  do  not  embrace  a  tithe  of  the  examples  ol 
the  usage,  which  may  be  drawn  from  the  Pentateuch  alone.  It  is  the  current 
phraseology  of  the  Chaldee  Paraplirases  wherever  in  our  version  we  meet  wilh 
any  intimation  of  a  visible  display  of  the  divine  glory.  Indeed  the  terms  'Glory' 
and  'Shekinah'  are  evidently  recognised  by  the  Targumists  as  convertible  terms. 
These  writers,  it  is  well  known,  were  Jews,  and  on  this  point  we  have  no  rea- 
son to  doubt  that  they  have  transmitted,  with  singular  fulness  and  accuracy,  the 
traditions  of  their  fathers  from  the  earliest  periods  of  the  ancient  economy. 
Still  we  should  make  comparatively  little  account  of  this,  were  it  not  that  their 
interpiretations  on  this  head  distinctly  accord  with  the  results  which  we  obtain 
from  a  strict  investigation  of  the  sacred  text  itself.  In  fact,  without  designing  it, 
^hey  have  yielded  a  most  important  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment doctrine  respecting  the  Messiah,  as  will  appear  more  clearly  from  the 
sequel  of  these  remarks. 

In  coming  now  to  a  more  close  examination  of  the  subject  of  the  Shekinah,  we 
are  met  at  the  outset  by  an  apparant  discrepancy  in  the  scriptural  statements  rel- 
ative to  the  divine  manifestations.  On  the  one  hand,  we  have  a  tolerably  numer- 
ous class  of. texts  speaking  the  language  that  follows;  John,  1.  IS,  'No  man 
hath  seen  God  at  any  time.'  Col.  1.  15,  'Who  is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God.' 
1  Tim.  1.  17,  'Unto  the  king  eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  the  only  wise  God.' 
1  Tim.  6.  16,  'Wlio  only  haih  immortality,  dwelling  in  the  light  which  no  man 
can  approach  unto  ;  whom  no  man  hath  seen  nor  can  see.'  Declarations  like  those 
establish  it  as  an  unquestionable  truth,  that  God  is  a  spirit,  pure,  incorruptible, 
immaterial,  and  in  his  own  nature  absolutely  incapable  of  becoming  an  object  of 
corporeal  vision.  This  is  to  be  maintained  as  a  radical  truth,  not  only  of  revela- 
tion, but  of  reason.  But  then  on  the  other  hand  what  can  be  more  explicit,  as 
far  as  the  letter  is  concerned,  in  affirming  some  kind  of  visibility  of  the  Deity, 
than  the  following  passages?  Ex.  24.  9 — 11,  'Then  went  up  Moses  and  Aaron, 
Nadab  and  Abihu,  and  seventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel ;  and  they  saw  the  God  of 
Israel,  and  under  his  feet  was,  as  it  were,  &c. — And  upon  the  nobles  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  he  laid  not  his  hand  ;  also  they  saw  God,  and  did  eat  and  drink.' 
So  likewise  at  the  delivery  of  the  Law  from  mount  Sinai  Jehovah  was  in  some 
sense  certainly  visible  ;  for  he  announces  to  Moses,  Ex.  19.  11,  that  '  on  the  third 
day  he  would  come  down  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people.'  And  in  speaking 
of  this  event  afterwards,  Deut.  4.  12,  in  an  address  to  Israel,  he  says,  'Jehovah 
talked  with  you  face  to  face  in  the  mount  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire.  The  same 
is  affirmed  of  Moses  in  person,  Ex.  33.  11,  'And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses/ace 
to  face,  as  a  man  speaketh  unto  his  friend.'  In  like  manner  the  prophet  Isaiah 
says  of  himself,  ch.  6.  1,  'In  the  year  that  king  Uzziah  died  I  saw  also  the  Lord 
sitting  upon  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up,  and  his  train  filled  the  temple;'  and 
again  in  v.  5,  of  the  same  chapter  ;  'Then  said  I,  Wo  is  me  !  for  I  am  undone — 
for  mine  eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts.' 


THE  SHEKINAH.  295 

How  then  are  these  modes  of  speech  to  be  reconciled  ?  Their  apparent  con- 
trariety shows  at  least  with  what  confidence  the  book  of  God  ajjpeals  to  our 
reason  on  the  ground  of  the  general  evidence  of  its  origin,  exhibiting  as  it  does 
such  examples  of  literal  sell-conflict  in  particular  passages.  A  work  of  impos- 
ture  could  not  afford  to  be  thus  seemingly  indiflerent  to  appearances.  In  the 
case  before  us  it  must  be  confessed,  that  there  is  something  of  a  problem  to  be 
solved  by  the  interpreter  of  the  sacred  text,  and  yet  he  cannot  be  long  in  coming 
to  the  conclusion,  that  the  object  seen  could  not  be  God  in  his'essence.  but  some 
symbol,  sign,  token,  or  medium,  through  which  he  was  pleased,  in  a  unique  and 
peculiar  manner,  to  manifest  his  presence.  Such  an  object  was  the  Sliekinah, 
which  appears  to  have  been  a  concentrated  glowing  brightness,  a  preternatural 
splendor,  enfolded  by  a  dark  cloud,  except  when  occasionally  some  faint  glimpses 
of  the  imprisoned  radiance  were  disclosed.  Probably  no  word  is  so  well  suited 
to  express  this  overpowering  effulgence  as  the  term  'glory,'  and  this  is,  in  fact, 
the  very  term  em])loyed  in  repeated  instances  for  the  purpose.  Whether  this 
visible  object,  however,  was  in  philosophical  strictness  uialerial  or  immaterial, 
we  hold  it  to  be  impossible  to  determine.  For  aught  that  appears  to  the  con- 
trary, it  may  have  been  a  substance  homogeneous  with  the  glorified  bodies  of 
Christ  and  his  saints.  Indeed,  so  far  as  we  can  judge  from  the  specimen  aflfbrded 
at  the  scene  of  the  transfiguration,  this  appears  to  us  an  entirely  probable  sup- 
position. But  however  this  may  be,  let  it  suffice  that  it  was  something  which 
came  within  the  cognizance  of  the  senses.  It  was  a  supernatural  something 
which  could  be  seen,  and  was  seen  ;  and  it  was  moreover  something  which  God 
saw  fit  to  constitute  as  the  special  indication  of  his  presence.  In  this,  however, 
we  are  not  to  conceive  of  the  omnipresent  Jehovah  as  foregoing  tlie  ordinary 
conditions  of  his  being,  or  circumscribing  his  infinity  within  assignable  limits. 
As  he  is  every  where  present,  and  incapable  of  being  otherwise,  we  cannot  con- 
sider him,  physically  speaking — if  the  term  may  be  allowed — as  really  any  more 
present  in  the  Shekinah  than  in  any  or  every  other  point  of  the  universe,  which 
his  inscrutable  nature  pervades.  Yet  nothing  prevents  us  from  supposing  that 
he  may  have  affixed  to  some  sensible  and  miraculous  phenomenon  a  special  sig- 
nificancy  as  a  medium  of  manifesting  his  will  or  agency  to  his  creatures.  Such 
a  medium  is  usually  in  scriptural  diction  termed  'an  Angel,'  and  this  fact  affords 
a  clue  to  the  solution  of  a  multitude  of  passages  wliere  mention  is  made  of  the 
'Angel  of  the  Lord.'  It  is  wholly  unnecessary  in  many  of  these  texts  to  suppose 
the  presence  of  any  created  spiritual  intelligence  whatever.  The  visible  phe- 
nomenon vas  the  angel,  and  that  only.  This  phraseology  is  peculiarly  applicable 
to  the  Shekmaii,  which  by  way  of  eminence  is  again  and  again  so  denominated, 
as  appears  from  the  Note  on  Ex.  32,  34.  Nothing  is  more  common,  moreover, 
in  the  ancient  versions,  than  to  meet  with  the  phrase,  'Angel  of  Jehovah,'  as 
equivalent  to  this  visible  representative  of  Jehovah.  While  therefore  we  are  not 
so  to  think  of  the  Shekinah  as  if  God  were  really  contained  in  it  in  any  sense,  in 
which  we  do  not  at  the  same  time  suppose  him  to  be  contained  in  every  other  ob- 
ject in  the  universe,  and  in  every  other  portion  of  space,  we  are  still  to  believe 
that  he  miglit,  and  that  he  did,  in  a  sovereign  manner,  connect  the  manifestation 
of  his  peculiar  presence  with  this  sensible  symbol.  It  can  scarcely  be  necessary 
here  to  repeat,  that  whatever  spiritual  presence  was  associated  with  the  visible 


296  THE   SHEKINAH. 

phenomenon,  it  was  not  lliat  Avliich  was  seen  or  heard,  'The  Father  who  hath 
bi  nl  nio,'  says  the  Savior,  'hath  borne  witness  of  me  ;  ye  have  neither  heard  his 
voice  at  any  lime,  nor  seen  his  shape.'  Indeed,  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
any  spiritual  being  ever  was  or  can  be  seen.  Even  in  the  intercourse  of  human 
beings  with  each  other,  the  spirit  is  never  seen  ;  it  is  only  made  known  by  its  ex- 
ternal manifestations,  of  which  the  face  is  one  of  the  most  striking.  Were  it 
not  so  common,  nothing  would  be  more  wonderful  than  that  the  inward  emotions 
and  aflcctions  of  phe  soul,  in  all  their  variety,  can  be  so  legibly  stamped  upon 
lliat  material  organization  which  we  behold  in  the  eyes  and  other  features  of  the 
liuman  countenance.  What  a  marvel — what  a  mystery — is  a  smile  or  -a  frown,  as 
expressed  in  the  movements  and  aspect  of  the  face  !  What  an  index  of  the 
hidden  workings  of  the  sentient  spirit !  It  is  doubtless  in  direct  allusion  to  this, 
that  the  Shckinah  is  repeatedly  called  the  Face  or  Presence,  or  Angel  of  the 
Face,  of  Jehovah.  It  was  a  medium  of  expression  to  the  thoughts  and  feelings 
and  purposes  of  his  mind  precisely  analogous  to  that  which  the  human  counte- 
nance is  to  the  human  mind.  But  as  we  have  already  expanded  this  view  of 
the  subject  in  our  Notes  on  Ex.  25.  30  ;  33.  14,  15,  we  forbear  to  enlarge  upon 
it  here. 

We  would  rather  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  fact,  that  inasmuch 
as  the  sensuous  and  seen  Shekinah  was  the  adopted  symbol  of  the  divine  Pres- 
ence, the  frt  e  and  bold  diction  of  the  Scriptures  denominates  it,  in  multitudes  of 
instances,  by  l!ie  very  titles  which  are  apj)ropriated  to  Jehovah  himself.  This 
will  have  been  very  apjiarenl  in  the  quotations  already  made,  and  similar  in- 
stances will  be  found  of  almost  perpetual  occurrence  in  the  Notes  of  this  and  the 
succeeding  volume. 

Consequently  tliere  is  no  ground  for  the  oj)inion,  advanced  by  some  com- 
muitutors,  that  the  spiritual  being  who  acted  in  conjunction  with  the  Sliekinah, 
was  some  inferior  created  being,  representing  Jehovah,  and  therefore  using  his 
name  and  cktiming  his  authority.  The  Scriptures  afford  not  the  least  shadow  of 
e\idence  in  sujiport  of  such  an  hypothesis.  The  character  and  titles  of  the  su- 
preme God  are  appropriated  to  the  person  concerned  in  these  appearances  in 
such  a  way  that  nu  form  of  speech,  no  principles  of  interpretation,  will  allow  of 
tl)eir  being  aj)plied  to  him  who  merely  represents  or  personates  him.  The  whole 
worship  of  the  church  is  uniformly  throughout  the  Old  Testament  properly  and 
iiiim'diately  directed  to  the  persf n  ajjpearing,  or  acting  in  these  appearances, 
V.  iiln  ut  any  intimation  of  a  representative.  So  that  if  the  person  appearing  in 
tlie  Slitlunah  be  a  representative  only,  he  is  not  only  a  representative  speaking 
in  the  name  of  another,  and  with  his  authority,  but  he  must  he  his  representa- 
tive in  receiving  religious  worship  also ;  for  to  him  was  all  the  worship  of  the 
church  directed  as  its  immediate  object.  The  whole  scojjc  of  the  language  res- 
y  c'iig  the  worship  of  the  Israelitish  church  jdainly  recognises  the  fact,  that  it 
was  addressed  to  Jehovah  who  dwelt  between  the  Cherubim  in  the  Most  Holy 
jihice.  How  then  can  it  be  imagined  that  in  a  true  revelation  any  other  being 
th;Mi  the  one  only  God  should  be  pro})osed  as  the  object  of  prayer?  It  is  well 
Uh'  \m;  K)  have  been  the  fust  and  fundamental  article  of  the  Jewish  creed,  that 
iht  !'•  i;-  (;n!y  one  lri:e  C(  (!,  niul  l.im  (;nly  weic  they  to  worship  and  serve.  '  If, 
ihi  rcfort ,'  says  Lou  man,  '  we  consider  another  spirit  or  an  angel  to  be  the  only 


THE   SIIEKINAH.  297 

person  appearing,  the  whole  worship  of  the  church  will  then  be  given  to  thiit 
person  or  spirit  directly  and  immediately,  and  not  to  the  one  God  of  Israel,  and 
the  Most  High.  And  in  this  sense,  as  I  a])prehend,  the  whole  religious  service 
of  the  church  must  have  been  an  express  contradiction  to  the  chief  and  principal 
doctrine  of  the  Jewish  religion,  and  indeed  of  all  true  religion  natural  as  well  as 
revealed.  The  worshippers  of  God,  under  the  Jewish  dispensation,  seem  very 
sensible  of  this  truth,  and  often  express  how  highly  they  were  concerned  never 
to  dissent  from  it,  or  to  worship  any  other  than  the  one  true  God,  on  any  pre- 
tence whatever.  And  yet  throughout  the  whole  of  this  dispensation  all  theii 
prayers  and  their  whole  worship  were  addressed  to  the  Sliekinah,  or  to  the  person 
who  appeared  in  it,  though  they  never  once  give  the  least  intimation,  on  any  oc- 
casion, that  the  person  appearing  was  properly  an  angel,  and  not  the  Most  High. 
So  that  if  the  person  appearing  in  the  Shekinah  was  only  an  angel,  or  any  other 
being  than  the  Supreme  God  himself,  it  would  seem  that  the  whole  worship  of 
the  church,  for  two  thousand  years  together,  was  offered  to  one  object,  besides, 
and  against  the  intention  of  every  worshipper,  and  against  the  chief  fundamental 
doctrines  and  rule  of  their  religion.'  We  are  brought,  therefore,  so  far  as  we 
can  see,  irresistibly  to  the  conclusion,  that  it  was  the  Great  Jehovah,  the  one 
living  and  true  God,  who  appeared  in  the  Shekinah,  and'who  through  that  me- 
dium manifested  his  presence  and  communicated  his  will  to  the  chosen  people. 

A  point  of  equal  interest  and  importance  now  invites  our  attention,  viz.,  to 
determine  the  relation  borne  by  the  Shekinah  to  Christ.  The  opinion  has  long 
since  become  a  doctrine  in  the  Christian  church,  that  the  theophanies  recorded 
in  the  Old  Testament  \vere  in  some  sense  to  be  referred  to  the  Son  of  God,  an- 
ticipating in  this  way  his  future  manifestation  in  human  flesh  as  the  great  Me- 
diator between  God  and  man.  Still  it  must  be  confessed  that  a  very  considerable 
degree  of  vagueness  has  marked  the  views  which  have  been  entertained  on  this 
subject.  It  seems  not  to  have  been  distinctly  apprehended  in  what  character 
preciselj'^  the  Messiah  is  to  be  regarded  in  those  manifestations.  Was  it  the 
human  or  the  divine  nature  which  went  to  the  constitution  of  his  glorious  per- 
son, that  was  made  sensibly  present  on  those  occasions?  If  the  former,  how  is 
this  to  be  reconciled  with  the  fact,  that  his  human  nature  did  not  exist  till  he  was 
born  at  Bethlehem  of  the  virgin?  If  the  latter,  then  we  are  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion, that  Christ's  godhead  was  Jehovah's  godhead;  that  his  divinity  was 
absolutely  identical  with  that  of  the  Supreme  God,  whom  we  have  already 
shown  to  have  been  exclusively  concerned  in  these  remarkable  appearances. 
This,  w^e  have  no  question,  is  indeed  the  fact,  and  on  this  ground  we  are  satis- 
fied that  an  irrefragable  argument  may  be  built  in  proof  of  the  real  and  es- 
sential deity  of  the  Savior  of  men  ;  but  it  is  our  purpose  to  come  at  this  conclu- 
sion through  the  avenue  opened  before  us  by  the  usus  loquendi  of  the  Scriptures 
and  the  Jewish  church  relative  to  the  Shekinah. 

No  one  at  all  conversant  with  the  Chaldee  paraphrases  can  have  failed  to  no- 
tice, that  besides  'Shekinah,'  the  title  which  they  very  frequently  give  to  the  ap- 
pearances of  the  divine  being  spoken  of  in  the  Hebrew  records  is  nirT^I  J^^^^-^D 
Tii'mra  da-Yehovah,  which  as  the  Greek  language  prevailed  and  acquired  a  fixed 
predominance,  was  translated  'The  Logos,  or  Word  of  the  Lord,'  The  She- 
kinah. as  we  have  seen,  was  a  sensible  medium  of  the  manifestation  of  the 


298  THE   SHEKINAH. 

divine  presence  and  ihe  declaration  of  the  divine  will.  An  audible  voice  very 
frequently  accompanied  its  vissible  apparition,  and  as  it  was  in  fad  the  standing 
organ  ol  commuuicalion  between  Jehovah  and  his  covenant  people  through 
all  the  periods  of  the  ancient  economy,  nothing  would  be  more  natural  than  that 
it  should  come  to  be  designated  by  the  phrase  -Word  of  the  Lord,'  or  by  way  of 
eminence,  'The  Word.'  Words,  either  written  or  spoken,  are  tlie  established 
vehicle  for  conveying  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  one  human  being  to  another. 
Tlie  Shekinah,  in  like  manner,  by  addressing  the  senses  communicated  the  de- 
signs  and  will  of  God  to  men.  The  two  media  answered  the  same  purpose  and 
discharged  the  same  office.  How  natural,  therefore,  and  how  j)roper,  to  call  the 
Shekinah  '  the  Word  of  the  Lord'  ?  Accordingly  the  evidence  is  superabundant, 
that  this  appellation,  in  reference  to  the  Shekinah,  was  perfectly  familiar  to  the 
Jews  at  and  before  the  time  of  our  Savior;  and  as  used  by  tlieir  writers  would 
convey  an  idea  entirely  equivalent  to  that  couched  under  the  ordinary  terms  for 
the  divine  appearances  above  alluded  to.  Out  of  hundreds  of  instances,  which 
might  be  adduced  to  this  effect,  we  present  the  following  in  tabellaied  form ; 
premising  that  in  the  right  hand  column,  under  the  title  '  Chaldee,'  we  give 
indiscriminately  the  renderings  of  Onkelos  or  Jonathan,  as  they  may  happen  to 
be  more  or  less  pertinent  to  our  purpose. 

Hebrew.  Chaldee. 


And  they  heard  the  voice  of  the  Word 
of  the  Lord  walking  in  the  garden. 


Gen.  3.  8.  And  they  heard  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  God  walking  in  the  midst 
of  the  garden. 

Ch.  28.  20,  21.  And  Jacob  vowed  a  And  Jacob  vowed  a  vow  to  the  Word, 
vow,  saying,  If  God  will  be  with  me,  saymg,  li  the  Word  of  the  Lord  will 
and  keep  me,  &c.,  then  shall  the  Lord  be  my  help,  &c.,  then  shall  the  Lord  be 
be  my  God.  my  God. 

nu  o'  n  K  A  n  A  ^  r.^,.r.^A  ..„»^  And  the  Word  of  the  Lord  appeared 
^  Ch    3o.  9.    And   God  appeared   un  o  -^    .^^     ^^,^^^H^  ^^^ 

Jacob  again  when  he  came  out  of  Padan-    ^^,^.       ^-^^^^^  Padan-Aram  :  and  blessed 


aram  :  and  blessed  hin 


him. 


Ex.  16.  8.  Your  murmurings  are  not  Your  murmurings  are  not  against  us, 

against  us,  but  against  the  Lord.  but  against  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 

Ch.  19.  17.  And  Moses  brought  forth  And  Moses  brought  forth  the  people 

the  people  out  of  the  camp  to  meet  with  out  of  the  camp  to  meet  with  the  Word 

God.  of  the  Lord. 

Ch.  30.  6.   Where  I  will  meet   with  Where  I  will   appoint  for  thee  my 

thee.  Word. 

T        o,^   .,    ,rt     A    J    T      -n       .  And  I  will  set  my  tabernacle  among 

Lev.  26.  11,12.   And  I  will  set  my  ^^^  ^        ^,J^   ^,,^11  ^^^      -^^^ 

tabernace  among  you;    and   my  soul  ^      ;    ^^^  j^^^,^,,  ^^^,^^           Shekinah 

shall  not  abbor  you.     And  I  will  walk  (^  ^j^^,^j,  ^                     ^^j  ^^  ^^,           ^ 

among  you  and  be  your  God.  ^    .                     o  j      j                     j 

.20.    Because   that  ve   have  •    ^'T\^^  11^'^'^  '''l]'''y^'T'}lI^: 


Num.  11.20.    Because   that  ye 
despised  the  Lord  which  is  among  you. 


jecled   the    Word  of  the   Lord,  whose 
Shekinah  dwellelh  among  jou. 
Ch.  14.  9.   Only  rebel  not  ye  against        But  rebel  not  ye  against  the  Word 
the  Lord.  of  the  Lord. 

Ol    oo   ^     .     .  „    ,        .  „  ,  And  the  Word  from  before  the  Lord 

Ch.  23.  4.  And  God  met  Balaam.  ^^^^  Jjalaam. 


THE   SHEKINAH.  299 

Hemiew.  Chaldee. 

Deut.    1.   30.    The    Lord    your    God        ^.^  rr-.,.^  ^^  #j  „  r  ^,  j  n     r'    i      v. 

which  goelh  before  yon,  he  shall  light    •    F^^'",""^  ^^    n  /i     /^  ^""^'  '"^^ 
r  J*  •'      '  =        IS  thy  leader,  shall  light  lor  you. 

Ch.  1.  32,  33.    Yet  in  this  thing  ye 
did   not   believe    the    Lonl   your   God, 

who  went  in   the   way  before  you,  to        And  in  this  thing  ye  did  not  believe 
search  you  out  a  place  to  pitch  your    in   the    Word  of  the  Lord   your   God, 
tents  in,  in  lire  by  night,  to  show  you    who  went  as  a  leader  before  you,  &c. 
the  way  ye  should  go,  and  in   a  cloud 
by  day. 

Ch.  13.  IS.  When  thou  shalt  hearken        If  thou  shalt  be  obidiint  lo  the  Word 
to  the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God.  of  the  Lord  thy  God. 


With  this  array  of  testimonies  before  us,  it  is  impossible  to  question  tliat 
the  term  '  Logos'  or  *  Word'  is  repeatedly  employed  as  equivalent  to  the  She- 
kinah.  But  Jesus  Christ  is  called  by  John  the  *  Logos'  or  'Word.'  'In  the  be- 
ginning  was  the  Word,'  &c.  And  have  we  not  now  obtained  an  adequate  so- 
lution to  this  title  as  applied  to  him,  without  going  out  of  the  bounds  of  the 
established  Jewish  usus  loquendi  ?  It  is  not  indeed  to  be  doubted,  that  the 
Platonising  fathers  of  the  church  made  a  very  early  prey  of  this  word  and 
wrought  it  into  the  tissue  of  their  mystic  philosophy,  as  a  personification  of  the 
divine  Reason  or  Wisdom — a  circumstance  which  has  led  commentators  to  see 
in  John's  use  of  the  term  some  profound  allusion  to  the  dreams  and  dogmas 
of  the  Gnostic  heresy.  But  this,  we  conceive,  is  nothing  else  than  reading 
inspired  truth  through  heathen  glasses.  The  meaning  of  any  word  or  phrase, 
says  Mr.  Upham  (Let.  on  the  Logos,  p.  89),  is  *  always  to  be  sought,  and  cau 
only  be  discovered,  in  the  sources  from  which  its  use  originated.  'Logos'  is 
a  Jewish  expression.  To  the  Jews  must  we  go  to  ascertain  its  import.  In- 
quirers and  writers  on  this  subject  have,  in  general,  failed  to  establish  the  true 
interpretation,^  by  directing  all  their  researches  to  the  heathen  systems  in  which 
the  (term)  Logos  is  used,  instead  of  descending  beyond  them  to  the  Hebrew 
Theology,  from  which  they  borrowed  it.'  With  the  clue  before  us,  we  are 
enabled  without  difficulty  to  explain  this  title  as  apj)ropriated  to  Christ.  He 
was  'The  Word'  in  the  most  emphatic  and  preeminent  sense.  He  was  the 
great  organ  of  communication  between  heaven  and  earth.  He  was  the  divine 
Declarer  of  his  Father's  purposes  of  grace  and  redemption  to  lost  men.  Indeed, 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  all  previous  divine  communications  and  appear- 
ances were  prospective,  preparative,  and  preintimative  in  their  scope,  pointing 
to  him  who  w^as  subsequently  to  come  forth  from  the  bosom  of  the  Godhead 
ind  tabernacle  or  shekinize  in  our  nature  as  the  incarnate  'Word.'  Accord- 
ingly we  are  told  by  the  apostle,  Heb.  1.1,  that  'God  who  at  sumlry  times  and 
in  divers  manners  spake  in  times  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath, 
in  those  last  days,  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son.'  He  was  appointed  to  discharge 
between  God  and  man  in  a  preeminent  manner  the  same  office  which  words 
lischarge  between  man  and  man.  He  was  to  be  the  proclaimer  of  his  mercy, 
*he  revealer  of  his  character,  and  at  the  same  time,  the  representative,  the 
likeness,  the  image  of  his  attributes.     In  a  word,  he  was  to  be  'God  manifesi 


300  THE   SHEKINAH. 

in  the  flesh.'  '  In  him  was  to  dwell  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.'  And 
we  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  int.erpreting  those  lofty  predicates  of  him  which 
we  find  in  the  proem  of  John's  gospel,  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  the  same  or 
equivalent  language  is  unreservedly  used  in  the  Old  Testament  of  the  Shekinah, 
the  'Word'  of  that  dispensation.  Under  the  dictation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  the 
august  titles  Jehovah,  Jehovah  God,  Jehovah  of  Hosts,  Angel  of  the  Presence, 
&c.,  are  again  and  again  applied  to  the  visible  symbol  of  the  Shekinah,  and  all 
the  acts  and  attributes  proper  to  the  Supreme  God,  the  Creator  of  the  world,  and 
the  object  of  all  religious  worship,  most  freely  ascribed  to  it.  So  truly  then  as 
the  Shekinah  of  the  earlier  economy  is  identified  with  the  Jehovah  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  the  Shekinah  is  the  same  as  '  The  Word'  that  was  made  flesh, 
so  truly  is  Jesus  Christ  also  the  Jehovah  of  the  inspired  Scriptures,  'God  overall 
and  blessed  for  ever.' 

To  those  who  may  be  desirous  of  extending  their  inquiries  on  this  subject,  the 
following  woi4ts  will  be  found  replete  with  interesting  views  and  reasonings : — 
Lowman's  Three  Tracts  on  the  Shekinah  ;  Allix's  Judgment  of  the  Ancient 
Jewish  Church  against  the  Unitarians  ;  Ben  Mordecai's  Letters ;  and  the  Rev. 
C.  W.  Upham's  Letters  on  the  Logos.  With  several  of  the  conclusions  of  this 
latter  gentleman  we  find  it  impossible  to  coincide,  but  we  feel  no  hesitation, 
nevertheless,  in  awarding  to  his  little  volume  on  the  Shekinah  and  the  Logos 
the  praise  of  an  elaborate  and  candid  research  into  the  whole  subject,  and  of  an 
able  comparative  estimate  of  the  lights  thrown  upon  it  by  sacred  and  ecclesias- 
tical antiquity.  But  the  theme  is  one  of  sufficient  importance  to  demand  a  far 
more  extended  investigation  than  it  has  ever  yet  received.  We  are  persuaded  it 
is  destined  to  furnish  a  key  to  the  solution  of  some  of  the  profoundest  mysteries 
of  revelation.  Among  English,  cfbmmentators  we  know  of  no  one,  except  Patrick, 
who  seems  to  have  had  any  adequate  idea  of  what  is  really  involved  in  the  re- 
corded theophanies  of  the  Old  Testament. 


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Motes,  critical  and  practical,  on  the 


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